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Tom Richmond: Leaks, democracy and the lost primacy of Parliament
THE late Robin Cook is still fondly remembered, and with justification, as one of the finest Parliamentarians of his generation.
His principled opposition to the Iraq war secured his place in the public's consciousness, but it was his dissemination of a complex 1,800-page report a decade earlier that forged his political reputation.
Dealing with the arms to Iraq scandal that so embarrassed John Major's government, Cook – and Sir Menzies Campbell for the Liberal Democrats – had just a couple of hours to study the findings before a setpiece Parliamentary debate which coincided with the publication of the report concerned.
Campbell, by his own admission, struggled to grasp the inquiry's magnitude.
Yet Cook, who was Labour's then trade spokesman, humiliated the Government in the Commons with his forensic questioning.
It was a bravura performance.
However, Campbell's memoirs earlier this year provided fresh insight into this performance. The former Lib Dem leader disclosed that his friend and rival had been "tipped off" by the inquiry's officials about "which chapters to read".
Yet, from what I recall, there were no Conservative accusations of foul play. They shrugged their shoulders, accepted their fate and privately congratulated Cook on performing his democratic duty; namely holding the Government to account.
There was certainly no prospect of a police investigation, even though it could have been argued that the civil servants' actions constituted a breach of the strict rules of impartiality which are supposed to govern their work.
The Conservatives were equally ambivalent in the 1990s when an entire Budget was leaked in advance to Labour's Treasury team whose number included one Gordon Brown.
Contrast this with the furore over Damian Green, a Shadow Cabinet member who has allegedly been using information supplied by a Home Office official to expose failures of immigration policy. It is now claimed that some kind of inducement may have been offered in return for sensitive information.
At face value, the only difference between these two extraordinary episodes is that Labour doesn't mind leaks – as long as it is doing the leaking.
However, there is another subtle change, and it is this. Cook used his evidence in a setpiece debate in a Parliament that had made
time to debate the arms to Iraq inquiry.
His resignation statement, on the eve of the Iraq war, was also made in the Commons because he, unlike others, recognised its position at the heart of the democratic process
In contrast, Green used the leaked information that he received as the centrepiece of a series of allegations that were made to the national media first, and to the Commons at a latter date.
The need for a quick headline appeared to take precedence over any desire to question Ministers at the Despatch Box. Perhaps this is not surprising because the Government continues to bypass Parliament at every available opportunity – despite Gordon Brown promising, on becoming Prime Minister, to put the Commons at the heart of the democratic process.
But it is the diminishing role of Parliament that should be taking far greater precedence today than the measures contained in tomorrow's Queen's Speech – a mish-mash of recycled policy announcements that Brown
hopes will re-invigorate his party prior to a possible "snap" election in June.
You couldn't watch a news bulletin over the weekend without seeing MPs from all parties arguing that the arrest of the Conservative immigration spokesman, and the sight of counter-terrorism police ransacking his homes and offices, was a breach of Parliamentary privilege. That may be so, especially given the extent to which the heavy-handed police tactics appear to be disproportionate with the nature of the allegations that have been made against Green.
But why is it so many MPs only started coming out of the woodwork, and talking about the importance of Parliament when one of their own had been arrested?
They certainly haven't been doing so, for example, on the economy – the one issue that is now impacting upon every corner of the land.
Take last week's Pre-Budget Report which was tantamount to an emergency Budget. The Government initially decided that Chancellor Alistair Darling would only take questions from backbenchers on the wide-ranging measures and the ballooning of the national debt because it was not a full "Budget".
It took the intervention of Michael Martin, the Speaker of the Commons, to ensure that a three-hour debate could be held. But, given the contents of the report, three hours was hardly sufficient to scratch the surface.
There needed to be a three day debate at the very least where MPs could go through the Chancellor's measures on a line-by-line basis.
This is certainly what happens after the Budget every spring – and Darling's statement last week was a "Budget" in all but name.
Yet, as I lamented this lack of scrutiny, I recalled the Budget debate earlier this year. On some days, it actually had to be cut short because there were insufficient MPs present on the green benches of the Commons.
Some will doubtlessly say that the economic crisis was not as grave then as it is now. I disagree. Even in March, it was ominously clear that Britain was on the brink of a long – and painful – recession.
The question, therefore, is whether this Queen's Speech can mitigate the impact of the slump, and if backbenchers have a desire to scrutinise any measures, such as the Government's proposed level of borrowing, that might compromise Britain's long-term recovery prospects.
However, for this to happen, it will require the emergence of politicians who are prepared to put Parliament first, and not just when it suits their own agenda.
Politicians of the stature of Robin Cook who once told me that a single intervention in the Commons carried far more weight – and significance –than every 10 appearances on television.
SECRET SERVICES: A HISTORY OF LEAKS
Leaks enabled Winston Churchill to warn in the 1930s of Britain's lack of preparations for the coming Second World War.
Former MP Tam Dalyell used them to embarrass Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Argentine cruiser, General Belgrano, during the Falklands War, and they even helped Gordon Brown demolish
John Major's government in the 1990s.
Ministers also fear there is another well-placed "mole" in the Treasury who is feeding information to the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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