Minister attacks 'reckless' Blair
Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent Monday March 10, 2003 The Guardian
Tony Blair was last night facing the opening of floodgates to a catastrophic rebellion in his own ranks, as Clare Short, the international development secretary, warned that she would quit the cabinet if there was no second UN resolution supporting war in Iraq.
In comments which were frank even by her standards, she said she feared the prime minister was being "extraordinarily reckless" with the future of the government.
Her dramatically timed intervention raises the stakes for Mr Blair as he battles to persuade wavering states on the UN security council to support a resolution. It followed yesterday's resignation of a cabinet member's parliamentary private secretary and the threat by other parliamentary aides to follow suit.
Speaking at what she described as "ten minutes to midnight", Ms Short told the BBC Westminster Hour: "If there is not UN authority for military action, or if there is not UN authority for the reconstruction of the country, I will not uphold a breach of international law or this undermining of the UN, and I will resign from the government." ...
Claiming she could not stay to "defend the indefensible", she accused Mr Blair of adding to the mood of recklessness. She explained: "The whole atmosphere of the current situation is deeply reckless; reckless for the world, reckless for the undermining of the UN in this disorderly world, which is wider than Iraq, reckless with our government, reckless with his own future, position and place in history. It's extraordinarily reckless. I'm very surprised by it." ...
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,911062,00.html>
Carl
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