Michael Gove is facing a US travel ban as his cocaine confession is in breach visa rules as he sets out his bid to become the next Tory leader by vowing to scrap VAT
- Michael Gove admitting to use of cocaine could mean he is banned from the US
- The Tory leadership hopeful could be made ‘inadmissible’ if he lied on visa forms
- Gove set out plan to scrap VAT and bring in a lower sales tax to stimulate growth
Michael Gove’s cocaine confession means he could be banned from travelling the US
Michael Gove’s cocaine confession means he could be banned from travelling the US.
His admission to taking the drug could put him in breach of visa rules, which require the applicant to answer whether they have ever violated laws related to possessing, using or distributing illegal drugs.
FBI and DEA officials have confirmed that American authorities could use Gove’s confession to bar him from travelling to the country, the Sunday Times reported.
Gove’s last public visit to the US was to interview Donald Trump before he was inaugurated in January 2017.
US immigration law specialist Susan McFadden claimed Mr Gove’s admission might make him ‘inadmissible’ to the US if the Tory hopeful had lied on his visa waiver or regular visa application before his previous visits to the country.
‘It’s not so much about the admission he has made now that could stop him from being allowed to enter the US, but whether he has previously lied on either his Esta or visa application,’ she told the Sunday Times.
The revelation comes as Mr Gove pledged to scrap VAT and bring in a lower sale tax to stimulate business following Brexit in a Sunday Telegraph piece.
He claimed his economic plan was driven by the need to bring in additional investment, increase productivity and improve wages across the country.
Mr Gove claimed he would tackle Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘Marxist’ plans with his ‘smart pro-business economic plan’, which he hopes would build the country up as an ideal location for free markets, enterprise and competition.
Boris Johnson, left, and Michael Gove stand together during a Vote Leave rally at Forman’s Fish Island, east London, on June 4, 2016
He took the opportunity to attack Mr Corbyn as an ‘enemy’ of business, writing that the Labour leader was the ‘real enemy of business’ who would ‘wage war on opportunity and attack enterprise’.
He wrote: ‘It would mean reducing the regulations which hold business back, cutting and reforming taxes – such as business rates – which put pressure on small businesses and undermine our high streets, using the opportunity of life outside the EU to look to replace VAT with a lower, simpler, sales tax, ensuring our business tax structure is the most competitive in the G20 and reducing marginal tax rates for the poorest families to reward work.
‘I would be rigorously pro-competition, innovation and new start-ups.
‘I’d review competition law to tackle cartels and over-mighty monopolies, put curbs on the power of lobbyists to erect barriers to new business, and change the rules on digital provision to allow more new entrants into the market and ensure faster, wider 5G coverage across the country.’
Earlier this week Mr Gove admitted taking cocaine on ‘several social occasions’, saying he used the banned substance when he was younger and deeply regrets it.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I took drugs on several occasions at social events more than 20 years ago. At the time I was a young journalist. It was a mistake. I look back and I think, I wish I hadn’t done that.’
Mr Gove, 51, insisted his past mistakes should not be held against him as he battles to replace Theresa May as prime minister.
‘It was 20 years ago and yes, it was a mistake,’ he said. ‘But I don’t believe that past mistakes disqualify you.’