21 May 2004

Be honest over criticisms of US policy, Blair urged

The Tories have called on the Prime Minister to be straight with the British people and go public with criticisms of US policy.

Writing in today's Independent, Conservative leader Michael Howard condemned the Prime Minister for mutely falling in behind President Bush and accused him of following a "doctrine of secrecy" when questioned over the minutiae of trans-Atlantic decision-making.

While emphasising his support for the Iraq war, and the need for the Coalition to see it through, Mr Howard warned that Downing Street's "lack of clarity, competence and candour" was now "undermining public trust and confidence" in the Iraq policy.

He said: "I have always believed that the Anglo-American alliance is, and should remain, the anchor of British foreign policy. But the partnership between the UK and the US should always be a candid one. No British Prime Minister in recent times has been closer to an American President than Margaret Thatcher was to Ronald Reagan.

"Yet when Mrs Thatcher disagreed with President Reagan - as she did after the US invasion of Grenada in 1983 and after the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavik in 1986 - she made her views well known."

Mr Howard added: "But Tony Blair seems to have established a new doctrine. He seems to take the view that any advice he offers on US policy must be in private and any disagreements kept secret. This has the convenient advantage, from his point of view, that we never know whether and when he disagrees. Of course some discussions between heads of government must remain confidential. But not all."

However, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson said yesterday that the mission to secure Iraq's democratic sovereignty would be better served through maintaining a clear and coherent approach.

The UK military, he said, was not in Iraq for the sake of either UK or US diplomacy or to score points off each other – it was there to achieve a stable democracy.

That meant having "an agreed coherent strategy" – a Coalition strategy which was not exclusive to either the White House or Downing Street, he said.

He questioned how a stable democracy was to be achieved: "Through playing to the gallery, grandstanding or airing differences in public – which would give the Iraqis and our troops on the frontline conflicting messages? Or should it be done by focusing on reaching an agreed policy?

"In the Prime Minister's firm view, it was the latter course which would best achieve our shared objective - handing over power to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible and allowing them to develop a stable democracy."

The spokesperson said that it was to be expected that differences would emerge in agreeing a shared way forward, however, airing contentious issues through megaphone diplomacy or in the full glare of publicity was not the way to do it.

(gmcg)