Family misfortunes

As the arrest of Euan Blair proves, even if a politician can keep personal scandal at bay, a wayward child can often throw a spanner in the works.

Coming in the same week as the prime minister's sharp condemnation of drunken louts, the arrest of 16-year-old Euan Blair for being "drunk and incapable" is a political embarrassment.

Mr Blair can take comfort that he is not alone in his plight. Many top politicians have seen their offspring sabotage even the most heartfelt policy statements.

Tony isn't alone in being embarrassed by a child

The prime minister will no doubt be expecting the support of his home secretary. Jack Straw endured several weeks of intense media scrutiny following revelations his son was a drug dealer.

Young William Straw, not to be confused with an uncle of the same name recently arrested on assault charges, was exposed after supplying a Mirror reporter with cannabis resin in 1997.

Although Mirror editor Piers Morgan said he had no intention of publishing the story, however, Mr Straw quickly conducted his 17-year-old son to the police station.

Name and shame

Following the arrest of the minor, the episode descended into farce.

Reporter Dawn Alford was herself arrested for drugs possession arising from her scoop and the newspapers were served with an injunction preventing them naming the "cabinet minister's son" at the centre of the case.

Jack Straw turned William over to the police

When Scottish papers, not bound by the English ruling, finally named William Straw on 2 January 1998, the home secretary decided to talk to an expectant nation.

"Being a parent means giving love and support, and, when it's necessary, confronting children with their wrongdoing," said the man at the helm of the UK's anti-drugs policy.

Teenage kicks

Michael Howe, professor of psychology at Exeter University, says the children of politicians have urges no different to their peers.

"There must be very few adolescents who have not rebelled against their parents to some extent. They want excitement, they want thrills, and they're not always sensible."

William Straw's behaviour seemed not have been a deliberate attempt to humble his father, but some politicians' children have taken the opportunity to do just that.

Cecil Parkinson: Blamed for his daughter's conduct

Tuariki John Delamere, a former New Zealand government minister and ardent anti-smoking campaigner, was treated to the sight of his son ostentatiously puffing on a cigarette in the national press.

Surprisingly, when young Jean-Paul Delamere was caught smoking something more potent, his father gamely suggested cannabis should, in fact, be legalised.

A fine mess

There was little sign of such family loyalty when Mary Parkinson blamed her father, Tory high-flyer Cecil Parkinson, for her brush with soft drugs in 1987.

Emerging from court with a fine for possessing cannabis, she put her waywardness down to the pressure to achieve.

"[My father] used to get really angry with me because he had never known failure in his life. The pressure on me was too much and I just cracked."

Have his "youthful" activities come back to haunt George W Bush?

Youthful indiscretions, even if they don't mar a parent's political career, can come back to haunt patrician children later in life.

George W Bush, son of the former president, is finding his wild past a growing annoyance in his bid to claim the Oval Office for himself.

"When I was young and irresponsible, I behaved young and irresponsibly," he has said.

Sniff of scandal

While admitting to using drugs "recreationally" in the 1960s and having problems with alcohol into the 1970s, George Jnr refuses to be drawn on speculation he dabbled in cocaine.

"As I understand it, the current [Federal employee application] form asks the question 'Did somebody use drugs within the last seven years?', and I will be glad to answer that question, and the answer is 'No'."

Of course, drink and drugs need not be at the heart of all such scandals.

In 1994, Nicholas Forsyth, son of Tory bigwig Michael Forsyth, was thrown out of £3,000-a-year Rannoch School for being "discourteous".

Losing track: Mark Thatcher prompted his mother's tears

Familial embarrassment of another kind came to 10 Downing Street in 1982. The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, showed her soft side when son Mark went missing.

Mark Thatcher, then 28, got lost in the Sahara for a week while taking part in the Paris Dakar Rally.

Returned safe and well to the bosom of his family, thanks to efforts of 10 search aircraft, Mark Thatcher can claim the rare distinction of being the only person during her reign to wring a tear from Mrs T.