Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman's rugby-playing teenage son Jonathan is "deeply sorry" for taking banned substances, the Cabinet Minister said today.
The family decided not to appeal against a High Court judge's refusal to continue a privacy injunction which would have prevented the details being published.
In a joint statement, Mrs Spelman and her husband, Mark, said the ex-England under-16 rugby player had been trying to speed up his recovery from a serious injury.
The couple said: "Our son, who was then aged 16, was injured in September 2011 and took some widely available drugs in order to aid his recovery. The substances are, however, banned under anti-doping rules.
"He has made a voluntary statement to the RFU and is now subject to their disciplinary process, which is still ongoing.
"Our son knows that taking a banned substance can never, ever be right and he is deeply sorry for the mistakes he has made and is determined to learn from them.
"We will do everything we can to support him as he faces the consequences of his actions. He is still very young and we hope he can be given space to do that."