standard.co.uk - Politics Blog

Obama to call Cameron first in a crisis

BARACK Obama’s first call in a crisis to a world leader is to David Cameron, the US ambassador to London has told the Standard.

Ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to America, Louis Susman buried talk that the “special relationship” between Britain and the USA is on the wane as he heaped praise on Mr Cameron’s strong, “aggressive” leadership.

The ambassador also told how:
* American intelligence agencies are working with MI6, MI5 and the Metropolitan Police to safeguard the London Olympics.
* America, and Britain, will not “cut and run” from Afghanistan despite the mounting military death toll and recent setbacks including outrage over US troops burning Korans and an American soldier running amok killing 16 civilians including nine children.
* The US, the UK, Germany and France are warning Israel not to launch a military strike now on Iran.
* Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron enjoy a “very, very warm” relationship and will spend many hours together over coming days.

Speaking from New York, Mr Susman, 74, stressed the growing bond between the Obamas and Camerons, despite the two leaders representing different political traditions.

“He has a very special relationship, as he calls it an essential relationship, with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Cameron,” he said.

“One of the particular attractions is generational. President has just turned 50, the Prime Minister, I think is 45, they have young children. So I would tell you that as the president says ‘We have a problem, our first call is to the United Kingdom and to the Prime Minister’.

“From this ambassadorship, we see a strong leader, that’s aggressive for all of its causes, and obviously has a strong popularity right now in the United Kingdom.”

His warm words contrast with how Mr Obama started his presidency, when he sent back to the British embassy a loaned bronze bust of Winston Churchill that George W Bush kept in the Oval Office.

Relations with Gordon Brown were at time strained.

There were also suggestions that Mr Obama was lukewarm about the “special relationship”, partly as he had been told by Kenyan relatives how his grandfather was allegedly tortured by British forces in colonial years.

Tomorrow, though, Mr Cameron will become the first foreign leader to join the president on Air Force One as the two fly to Ohio to chill out at a basketball game.

Nicholas Cecil

The French battle for London

Socialist French presidential front-runner Francois Hollande is in town today, meeting with Ed Miliband and giving a talk at King's College.

He'll also be campaigning alongside Axelle Lemaire, his party's candidate in the race to be "French MP for London". A new-for-2012 innovation, France will have 11 MPs based outside of the country and chosen exclusively by ex-pats.

Ahead of Hollande's visit I spoke to all of Lemaire's London-based rivals (the time pressures of a visiting leader prevented it being a full house) and was struck by what an impressive bunch of budding politicians they are.

In Nicolas Sarkozy's corner is Emmanuelle Savarit, a 39-year-old divorced mother-of-two who has worked in LA and loves rugby. She also claims to be the only French member of the Carlton Club (following in Margaret Thatcher's footsteps - she was officially a male member back in the day). An impressive attack dog for the Sarkozy camp, she warned Brits should be "scared" if Hollande ousts her man from the top job.

Hoping to come through the middle is Yannick Naud, of the centrist Democratic Movement. A polished performer, the 44-year-old asset management firm boss is another with international experience, having worked in Japan where he met his wife. He is banging the drum for ex-pat rights, putting education at the top of his list and opposing plans to tax French people overseas.

Independent Will Mael Nyamat entered the race in protest at perceived gender bias in favour of Lemaire, quitting the Socialists to stand. A 27-year-old immigration adviser who was born in Gabon but now lives in Croydon. Very much the anti-establishment man, he argues voters don't want the contest "confiscated" by the two main parties.

Completing the list is the Green Party's Olivier Bertin, who runs a bilingual nursery school and has stood for the English greens as a council candidate in Lambeth. He believes the overseas MPs can bring a good perspective from their experiences abroad - even suggesting a Freedom of Information Act for notoriously privacy-aware France.

They are all bidding to woo as many as 100,000 registered French voters in the capital - the vast bulk of the constituency. It should make for a fascinating scrap.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Silvio's 21st century denial

Things aren't looking good for Silvio Berlusconi. The colourful Italian PM has been forced to deny rumours of his impending resignation - but he has done so in a very modern manner.

Not for our Silvio, media magnate and political operator extraordinaire, is the TV clip or the official press release. Oh no. Why bother when you can use Facebook?

 

It translates (roughly) as "Rumours of my resignation are baseless" - though I'd love to know what the Italian translation of the famous Mark Twain retort "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" is.

Note that more people have commented than "like" the post...

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

When Bill Gates came to Parliament

Bill Gates was in town last night, making two speeches to Tory groups. First up was the backbench 1922 Committee (where ironically his laptop wouldn't work, apparently), and then came an address to the newly-launched Conservative Friends of International Development.

As one of these pics by Andrew Parsons show, the event was packed out. Sources say it was five times oversubscribed.

It was part of a wider evening of aid events last night. At the Royal Geographical Society, a Spectator motion to cut the foreign aid budget was defeated by 117 votes to 77. On the winning side were International Development Minister Alan Duncan, Professor Paul Collier and Action Aid CEO Richard Miller, defeating Ian Birrell, Stephen Glover and the Royal Africa Society's Richard Dowen.

Meanwhile Government sources are hailing fresh polling, partly covered in the Independent today, on foreign aid. It has found the amount people think the UK is spending (17.9% of government spending) on aid is far higher than we actually are (1.1%), while the level they think it should be (7.9%) is seven times higher than the true amount.

It is being held up as evidence ministers, led by International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, are right to ringfence aid and stick to commitments - despite opposition from some rightwingers.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Clegg's warm welcome to returning Libya heroes

With David Cameron part of frantic efforts to save the Euro in France, Nick Clegg had a rather more enjoyable engagement this morning.

The Deputy Prime Minister was at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire to welcome home returning heroes from the Libya conflict.

He took the opportunity to thank troops on behalf of Britain and Libya with some moving words - and said they had made the key differnce in ridding the world of Gaddafi.

Here is some of his address: “This was an allied effort. But I am here to pay tribute to you, the men and women of Britain’s Armed Forces. You may have had the benefit of world-class aircraft. You may have had the benefit of precision weaponry. You may have had the support of the world’s greatest military alliance. But it has been your skill, your commitment, your bravery that has made the difference... 

“Thanks to the protection you have provided the Libyan people in their darkest hour, they have thrown off the yoke of Gaddafi and his regime. And, because of you, the guardians of freedom, they now have hope for their future.

“The road ahead will not be easy. But the people of Libya will have the support of the British Government as they build a new society. And Libya will no longer be a pariah state on the Mediterranean. Which means you have done a great service for Britain's national security too.

“You have saved countless lives. You have performed magnificently in testing times. Now, as you return to your families, my thanks, the nation’s thanks, the thanks of the Libyan people go to you.”

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

MP: Lawyers must not get Gaddafi victims' cash

As Colonel Gaddafi continues to lay unburied in a grizzly Libyan fridge, a post-conflict row is brewing in Westminster.

It centres around the issue of compensation for Provisional IRA semtex victims. Around 156 families or victims are set to receive payouts worth up to £6.3 million each, under a deal with the NTC over atrocities carried out with explosives supplied by the fallen despot.

But MP Daniel Kawczyinski, chairman of Parliament's all-party Libya group, is worried the deal will turn into a huge payday for lawyers.

He is urging David Cameron to bring administration of the compensation deal into Whitehall, to ensure all the money goes to victims and their families rather than legal representatives.

"I do not want a single penny of this lining the pockets of the lawyers," he told ESP.

"On the basis of a £450 million deal, lawyers would stand to gain as much as 20 per cent."

Mr Kawczyinski is also worried that a speedy deal will harm British standing in Libya. He argues that the worst victims of Gaddafi's brutality have been Libyans themselves, and that taking £450 million out of the country as it is being rebuilt would be propaganda ammunition for radical Muslim elements wanting to fill the power vacuum which may emerge.

"This has to be handled very sensitively," he cautioned.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Europe - chaos and rebellions

The Tory Party may be divided over Europe - but it is not as chaotic as the EU itself.

Aidan Burley, PPS to Philip Hammond, to Justine Greening is the latest ministerial aide to say he is thinking of voting for monday's rebel amendment. But he has not made up his mind and is weighing up carefully what local people want, bearing in mind that many people are more worried about their jobs at present.

“I have not decided what I am going to do,” he tells us. “I need to think about it and to reflect local opinion.  I am of the view that there should be a referendum at some point to resolve this question of Europe but I must also consider whether this is the best time, bearing in mind the importance of inward investment.”

If only Angerla Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy could ponder things with such grace. EU officials were shocked by the "tension" between them when they met this week and in London people are nervous that Sunday's summit and the special second summit next week will be failures.

It is still not clear if the extra summit will be for the 17 euro zone members or all 27 EU states, It will probably be on Wednesday but Tuesday or Thursday have not yet been ruled out. Unbelievably, in the midst of the worst crisis in the EU's history its leaders have not got a clue what they are doing.

Even the battling Tories are better than that.

 

 

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

 

 

A Foxy come-back -- don't rule it out

Contrary to some reports, a come-back by Liam Fox is not being ruled out in No 10.  “It’s possible in years to come,” says one source. “We have not said no, definitely not.”

Moreover, we have two Cabinet ministers fuelling the chat in today's paper. Here's Communities Secretary Eric Pickles in an interview with Craig Woodhouse (full interview due to run tomorrow): 

“I’ve known Liam for a long time, I’m very sad about what happened. I think he accepted that his sort of personal life drifted into his political, his ministerial life in an inappropriate way but I hope this isn’t the end of him in terms of a Government career.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, meanwhile, replied when asked on Five Live if it was the end of Dr Fox’s front bench career: “That’s a bit harsh!”

Overall, however, the sense I get is that it will not be considered until after the next general election. A wise bird says Lady Thatcher had a doctrine that a fallen minister had to be re-elected by his or her constituents before a come back was possible.  in addition, David Cameron is likely to claim there is a contrast between Fox's resignation and apoloigy with the forced resignations and hasty rehabilitations of Labour ministers such as Mandelson and Blunkett.

So, Foxy might be in the 2015 Tory Cabinet (or shadow cabinet) by which time his prospects will be entangled with spepulation about future leadership contetenders, such as his friend George Osborne.

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

Ministerial Code to be tightened

The Ministerial Code will be rewritten after the Fox affair, I hear. Sir Gus O'Donnell has concluded that there was a loophole between the spirit of the rules and the letter.

Essentially, he has concluded that the "close and visible association" between Dr Fox and Adam Werritty, at home and abroad, especially combined with the latter's buisiness cards describing himself as an "adviser to the SofS", were all likely to have misled people.

This fuelled an impression that Adam Werritty spoke on behalf of the UK Government.

That key conclusion may sound mild to people who have been reading amazing tales in the papers about Mr Werritty plotting regime change in Iran (and I've no idea if these claims are true or not) but in Whitehall terms this is toxic.  The business of politics depends on everyone saying the same thing: That goes for Cabinet members talking to the UK media, for example, but also for British ministers, diplomats and officials speaking to foreign countries. Any gaps in the rhetoric weaken the overall impact and make other countries speculate that a stance is not solid.

Werritty, who appeared to outsiders to be a member of Fox's staff but talked a completely different language to the Foreign Office representatives, was in Whitehall terms a rogue elephant.  It seems that Dr Fox's arrangements raised alarm bells but he felt that using Mr Werritty as a mate and sounding board did not breach any rules in the Ministerial Code and there was an impasse.

Therefore, the Code must change so that in future it is a firm duty on ministers to keep a distinct line between mates and mandarins.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter   @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

Sorry, Ed, Cameron won't oblige

Ed Miliband's hope of dragging the PM to the chamber probably won't be fulfilled. Even if John Bercow agrees to an urgent question on the Fox affair, Downing Street would rather send another minister to face the inevitable Labour cries of "Where's the Prime Minister?"

And the identity of the minister whose afternoon is at risk of being ruined?  Step forward Sir George Young, the sturdy baronet and Leader of the House who is even now at the ready for the call, ESP sources reveal.  A thoroughly nice and dependable bloke, Sir George, in the spirit of Downton's Lord Grantham.

 Stop Press:  Bercow has just indicated in the House he will accept an Urgent Question once the report has been published, which could mean just after Prime Minister's Questions tomorrow.  Stand by, Sir George

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

What Liam will do next

I am told that Liam Fox will continue his Atlantic Bridge project from the backbenches after Gus O'Donnell reports tomorrow.

The former Defence Secretary believes his scheme to forge closer links between British and American right wing politicians is too important to drop.

Friends believe he will be cleared by an official Whitehall inquiry tomorrow of having any personal financial interest in Mr Werritty’s activities.

Meanwhile, Dr Fox is “appalled” by the way his friend Adam Werritty has been “traduced” in media reporting of the controvers, say his friends.

This does not sound like a man who will hide away from the spotlight in months to come. Instead, I am getting a picture of a politician who admits mucking up the handling of his political interests but is of the view that those interests were - and are - right to pursue.

What does that mean for David Cameron?  Unless Gus O'Donnell's report has found serious wrongdoing, Dr Fox may find some sympathetic ears among Tory backbenchers.

Dr Fox resigned from Cabinet on Friday when he again apologised for having “blurred” the line between his ministerial duties and his personal interests.

(Incidentially, he is entitled to pocket £17,206 as severance pay following his resignation.)

I've spoken to sources who think Fox will be criticised for what one called running an “independent foreign policy” after the key findings of Sir Gus's report are published. There were periods when the former minister went off-radar to his own civil servants while he focussed on his international political agenda with Mr Werritty.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter     @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Werritty and the money question

How much did Adam Werritty spend on all those trips abroad where he bumped into Liam Fox?

The answer may be a staggeringly high amount. After all, the Guardian reported that at least one of the 18 trips involved First Class travel.

I've done an analysis based on British Airways fares to the various destinations, which included Dubai five times, plus Hong Kong Washington and Singapore twice each.  Exact costs are impossible to determine because fares vary according to demand so I'm basing this on return flights taken this week.

Flying in BA’s cheapest economy seats, the 18 trips would cost £25,000 in tickets.  However, if Mr Werritty went business class, his ticket expenses alone would have gone up to £77,146. 

Now let's add in two nights stay each trip in a typical £200 a night business hotel, costing another £7,200. 

That would take the total travel cost to £85,000. But then there are all those dinners at the sort of costly restaurants where one might just bump into a millionaire private equity boss.  With such high subsistence costs, he could easily have spent over £100,000.

I think these are conservative estimates.  If, as suggested by the Guardian, he flew First Class then the tickets would have been a third more expensive.

It does beg a pretty big question. Who the hell was paying for all of this and what did they think they were getting out of it?

There may be a perfectly dull and innocent explanation. But I've left two messages on Adam Werritty's mobile and I'm still waiting to for him to phone back and give it.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter  @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Osborne acts for Fox's sake

Two interesting things emerging as Foxie fights for his life.

First, there is an operation going on to help him involving George Osborne's supporters. This morning we had Greg Hands, the Chelsea and Fulham MP, going on radio and TV. Hands is Osbrone's PPS.

Then, in the Commons Fox was backed by both Hands and Matt Hancock, another trusted Osborne-ite. 

To be backed by one mate of the Chancellor is lucky. To get two in one day smacks of intrigue. Does Osborne hope for Fox's endorsement in a leadership contest in future (a valuable endorsement, especially if George is up against Boris Johnson).

Second, it emerges that Labour's defence team was treated to a freebie trip to Washington by the company run by Harvey Boulter, the same businessman that engineered a meeting with Fox via Adam Werritty. 

To be fair to the Labour trio who enjoyed the all-expenses paid trip (shadow ministers Jim Murphy and Michael Dugher plus an aide) they declared it openly in the register of interests and are not under the obligations of ministerial duty.

But it is striking that Boulter seems to have been spending big bucks to seek influence across the political spectrum.  This revelation does not get Liam Fox off the hook, but it muddies the water considerably and makes lectures about the need for long spoons a tad more difficult to press home.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter  @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Murphy's bold move

Last week I wrote about Labour's bid to decontaminate their defence brand with plans for a radical overhaul of procurement rules.

Today shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy has gone a lot further - making a bold move to paint Labour as the party of the armed forces.

In his conference set-piece, Mr Murphy announced that service personnel past and present will be able to join the party for £1 and that he had established a "Labour Friends of the Forces" group under former defence secretary and Nato chief George Robertson and para-turned-MP Dan Jarvis.

Murphy attacked the Government for cutting troops' pensions and equivocating over signing the Military Covenant into law, telling delegates: "I wanted to challenge the ill-informed orthodoxy of the past which says that Labour is the party of the NHS and the Tories are the party of the Forces. At a time when the Tories are proving that they are neither, a Labour opposition needs to be both if we are to be a Labour government."

He went on to vow Labour would be a "political home fit for our heroes".

It might be a laudable aim, but it leaves Murphy open to accusations of playing politics with the forces. Let's see if it sparks a storm.

 

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Danny admits we are better off outside the euro

Breaking news ... Danny Alexander, the former campaign chief for Britain in Europe, has admitted that it's a good thing he didn't win the Battle of Sterling.

He 'fessed up in an interview with the Evening Standard, when asked if it was lucky that the pro-euro campaign did not prevail.

"I think there is no doubt at all that the flexibilities we have, not being part of the euro, have been very helpful to the UK in dealing with the economic crisis we've had," he said.

Asked if that was politico-speak for admitting he was wrong, DA responded: "Who knows how it would have un-folded if things had worked out differently. I'm still a very firm believer that our national interest lies as a wholehearted member of the EU engaging positively to get the best for Britain. That's what always motivated me and that has not changed one iota."  He did not, however, say he still wants to join the euro.

There are lots of other good angles in the interview with this unassuming Lib Deb star.  He tells the unions that the Government is making contingency plans to defeat the strikes; urges his party to stand firm with the austerity policies and the Coalition; attacks Boris Johnson over the 50p rate and rebuffs the Tory Right on repatriation of powers.

But I like his description of why being brought up on a remote island (Colonsay, pop. 110) made him the man he is today.

 

Joe Murphy

follow me  on Twitter  .... @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Brian Haw is still making monkeys of the authorities

Brian Haw has had the last laugh.  A week after his death from cancer, there are more tents than ever in Parliament Square, as these pictures show.

His legacy is not just the continuing anti-war protest. It is also that protesters are still making a mockery of the authorities who tried so very hard to ban Haw's tent vigil.

 

Stretching from the corner of Whitehall (above) ...

... past Haw's original camp site, directly opposite the entrance to the Commons (below)

 ... to the corner with Millbank (above) ...

... all the way to the Mandela Statue oppposite Westminster Abbey (below)

Meanwhile, behind those high fences, council gardeners are planting perfect flowerbeds and manicuring the lawn, presumably to be unveiled when (or should that be if) the protesters are finally evicted by the courts.

I wouldn't bet on the authorities succeeding. After all, it's over five years since Parliament passed a law specifically to get rid of Haw and his followers - only for it to be declared an unlawful law (not a great advert for the skills of MPs and Govt. lawyers!).

Haw must be laughing his socks off.

Joe Murphy

 

 

The farmyard summit

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is in town today for a summit at Downing Street.

Trade deals are the main focus - it is hoped a package worth more than £1 billion will be signed - with cultural ties and co-operation on issues like climate change also on the agenda. Number 10 insists the touchy subject of human rights will not be ignored either.

But among the trade deals two things caught my eye - chickens and pigs.

David Cameron is hoping China will reopen its market for UK poultry exports, worth around £10 million a year to Britain. A deal to supply 800 breeding pigs is also expected to be signed, building on work by Vince Cable last year to reopen the market for pig meat.

Old MacDonald would be proud.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Borat and the Baroness

 

This summer, minister without portfolio Baroness Warsi will visit Kazakhstan on one of a number of bridge-building trips with the Islamic world.

She will address the foreign ministers' meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in the Kazakh capital Astana - a move being hailed as a major coup for Britain.

Will she be offering "Borat diplomacy" - Cultural Learnings of America UK for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan? Probably not, but I couldn't resist.

Incidentally, it is the latest in a series of trips the Baroness has made to Muslim countries that have taken place largely under the radar.

She is seen as the perfect minister to wield "soft power" - Pakistani heritage, speaks Urdu and understands other languages, and a female in places where women are often strangers to politics.

As one aide said: “She will often step off the plane wearing a salwar kameez (tunic and trousers) and her hosts do not expect that - it’s a far cry from ‘traditional’ British diplomacy and helps to facilitate things."

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse