Requests for discussion of potential attack refused
Michael White, political editor Friday August 16, 2002 The Guardian
Tony Blair has blocked attempts by senior ministers to stage a full-scale cabinet debate on the threat of a British-backed invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, it emerged last night.
Some ministers have approached the prime minister privately to suggest cabinet discussion, only to be fobbed off with assurances that Anglo-US decisions are still a long way off - and that Mr Blair does regularly talk through the Iraqi crisis with colleagues.
With backbench Labour critics becoming more restless, veteran ex-minister Gerald Kaufman today warns of "substantial resistance" at Westminster if Mr Blair follows "the most intellectually backward American president of my lifetime" into the looming conflict.
Ministerial anxiety has been restrained in public, with most attention focused on the suspected attitudes of Robin Cook, Clare Short, and, possibly, Gordon Brown, as the cabinet members most likely to be sceptics.
The "friends of Gordon Brown" are said to have told other MPs that the chancellor is unconvinced by the case the White House is making for a pre-emptive attack. In March, Ms Short spoke on TV of everyone having "a bottom line", though anti-war backbenchers such as Tam Dalyell doubt that she would resign.
They want a fresh United Nations mandate and for MPs to be allowed to vote in advance of any attack on Iraq. John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, this week refused to give such a pledge on Mr Blair's behalf. In reality, he would win it easily with Tory support, despite the 160 Liberal Democrat and Labour signatures to a warning Commons motion.
Mr Kaufman's comments in the Spectator will enhance anti-war concerns, which have already produced more cautious signals from Downing Street about the likelihood of conflict. But No 10 is keen to avoid premature debate in cabinet or Commons, or to publish whatever evidence it has against President Saddam before it has to do so.
Amid routine updates on military and diplomatic developments from Mr Blair, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, or the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon - usually during weekly cabinet meetings that last less than an hour - some ministers voiced unease in early March.
Mr Blair's preference is for bilateral meetings with senior colleagues or in small, informal groups, often on the No 10 sofa. Though he has become more willing to allow free-range discussion of issues of the moment than he was, he remains wary of topics that could cause a row or lead to media leaks.
"Tony says he does discuss this with colleagues, but he does not like things to get out of control," one senior minister explained.
In the hours before September 11, Mr Blair was privately warning against the dangers of letting rogue states such as Iraq obtain weapons of mass destruction. Few colleagues doubt the sincerity of his wish to stand by the US.
But they also report his sensitivity to public scepticism about the wisdom of any military intervention. Most EU states are even more wary.
Mr Blair, currently on holiday in France, will return to Britain before flying to the earth summit in Johannesburg where he will stay barely 24 hours on September 2 to make a speech before flying home to stage his now-monthly press conference.