THE BRITISH Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, rejected Tory criticism of his "botched and incomplete" negotiations at the Amsterdam summit yesterday by insisting he had "fully achieved" all of Britain's objectives.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Blair declared that the British government had "got a better deal" in the EU by being constructive and had achieved its aims over immigration, foreign policy and defence.
"I am happy to tell the House that our objectives were fully achieved and they were achieved while at the same time improving our standing in Europe and relationships with our partners," he added.
However, the Tory leader, Mr John Major, denounced Mr Blair's statement as a "travesty" and suggested he had gained nothing extra from the summit that the former British government had not previously negotiated.
"What you have done is to apply your usual jackdaw technique of picking up other people's property and claiming credit for it ... Much of what you have just won you inherited and much of the rest was never at risk, as you know," he said.
To Labour cheers, Mr Blair immediately pointed out that he had obtained a legally binding agreement over border controls which Mr Major had failed to achieve. "You were in power for 18 years, during which time the Conservatives did not secure this at any point in time, neither under you nor the previous prime minister," he said.
Although Mr Blair acknowledged that the problem of quota hopping by Spanish fishermen had not fully been resolved, he insisted progress had been made and if the Spaniards took Britain to court, the Commission would, for the first time, support the British government.
"For the first time for many years Britain spoke as a united government with a clear direction for Europe. We have proved to the people of Britain that we can get a better deal by being constructive and we have proved to Europe that Britain can be a leading player, setting a new agenda that faces the real challenges of the new century," he added.
But the Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Paddy Ashdown, described the summit as a "disappointment" because there were so many issues still to be agreed, particularly on moving Europe towards a new agenda. "The new agenda is indeed creating a people's Europe, which is less about the Europe of political elites and more about a Europe which delivers the things the people in Europe want," he added.