LONDON: Britain's former ambassador to the U.S. Christopher Meyer is under attack for his memoirs critical of Tony Blair and his government's role in the lead-up to the Iraq war. Foreign secretary Jack Straw, in an interview to BBC, said it is completely unacceptable for a person like Meyer to break trust in the way that he has done. It undermines a key relationship between civil servants and ministers, Straw said
Meyer, in his book "DC Confidential", contends that Blair was ineffective and failed in his efforts to get the United States to draw up proper plans for the aftermath of the war. He was "seduced by the glamour of U.S. power", said Meyer, whose term as Britain's ambassador to the U.S. extended from 1997 to 2003. He also said Britain's foreign office was marginalised by Blair's office in talks with the U.S. before the 2003 war.
In his reaction, Straw disputed the contentions and wondered whether Meyer could remain in his current job as head of the Press Complaints Commission
Straw said Meyer was not an active participant in the discussions before the war because he wanted to leave as ambassador. He also charged Meyer for bringing out details of events during his tenure as press secretary to former prime minister John Major.
Mayer reveals in the book how he was invited into the Majors' bedroom at No 10 to brief the prime minister, who was in various states of undress.
Parts of Meyer's book have been serialised in several newspapers in Britain.
Meyer also drew criticism from former cabinet secretary Lord Butler of Brockwell, who said the memoirs inhibited frank conversation between ministers and officials, and a civil service union leader Jonathan Baume, who described Meyer as utterly wrong to have published his book.
Labour MP Alan Keen, a member of the Commons culture committee, wanted Meyers to consider his position as head of the press watchdog.
Meanwhile, the Press Complaints Commission, funded by newspaper and magazine publishers, rejected Straw's claim, saying it was standard procedure for commission members to play no part in handling complaints that affected them or their employers directly.
Both Meyer and Lance Price, a former Downing Street press officer, who has written an insider's account of life in Number 10, have been asked to appear next month before the public administration select committee, which is probing whether memoirs of public servants could threaten the quality of decision-making.
Meyer has donated income from the serialisation of the book in newspapers to charity.
Posted
on : Sun, 13 Nov 2005 01:25 GMT | Politics News
By : Salim Patel
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