BRITAIN: There were robust exchanges in the Commons yesterday, reports Frank Millar, London Editor
Labour MPs again rallied behind Mr Stephen Byers yesterday as the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, insisted his embattled Transport Secretary be allowed to get on with his job.
As the row over Labour's "Spingate" affair rumbled on, the Conservatives accused Mr Blair of being "utterly shameless" and of being "too weak to root out dishonesty" inside his administration.
However, Mr Blair flatly rejected Mr Iain Duncan Smith's assertion that Mr Byers should have been sacked for having admitted saying something "fundamentally untrue" in his statement to MPs on Tuesday about the disputed "resignation" of his communications director, Mr Martin Sixsmith, and his role in subsequent negotiations about Mr Sixsmith's possible transfer to another post within the civil service.
In a robust performance during question time in the Commons, Mr Blair insisted there were "two parallel agendas" at play: "One is of the Conservative Party and parts of the media, which is to do with scandal and gossip day after day. The other agenda is about the economy, living standards, jobs, the NHS, education, crime and transport."
He told the Conservative leader: "You can concentrate on the first, we'll concentrate on the second." With many British newspapers still demanding Mr Byers' head, Mr Duncan Smith asked Mr Blair if it remained a principle of his "to sack any minister who lies?" Mr Blair replied: " Yes, of course, I expect the highest standards of propriety."
As Mr Byers listened, Mr Duncan Smith resumed his attack. On Tuesday, he said, "the Transport Secretary admitted to this House that he told the British people something that was fundamentally untrue. Before you came to power you said: 'I would expect ministers in a government I lead to resign if they lie.' If that is so, why is the Transport Secretary still in his job on the benches next to you?"
Mr Blair replied: "I don't accept what you have said." Mr Byers had made a full statement to the House and should now be allowed to get on with his job, which would include tackling the Conservative Party's "botched privatisation" of Britain's railways. "That's the last thing you will ever ask me about," Mr Blair told the Tory leader.
Mr Duncan Smith hit back: "Now we know you clearly aren't going to stand by your word." After his Commons' statement on Tuesday, he asserted, "nobody will ever believe Mr Byers again" and he continued: "You also said before you came to power that under your government there would be no more sleaze, no more lies, no more broken promises. It's bad enough that such a cabinet minister does not resign but [on Tuesday night\] you rolled out the red carpet at Number 10 and congratulated him." And he demanded: "Is it any wonder that public trust in politicians has fallen because you are too weak to root out dishonesty?"
Mr Blair retorted: "I'll tell you exactly what the Transport Secretary is going to concentrate on: sorting out a privatisation that has wrecked the state of Britain's railways, making sure we get the largest ever investment into the London Underground, appointing the right people to the Strategic Rail Authority so we get the extra rolling stock and investment the transport system needs."
Mr Blair was equally dismissive of Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, telling him the Transport Secretary and government would be judged on its handling of transport and the real issues of concern to the British people. Given that the government was presiding over "a shambolic transport policy", Mr Kennedy wondered "what would lead to a loss of confidence" in Mr Byers.