Posted on 06/27/2004 4:22:20 AM PDT by tjwmason
The government is attempting to censor a new book by one of Tony Blair's former key advisers that will reveal embarrassing new details of the fiery relationship between the Prime Minister and Gordon Brown.
Sir Andrew Turnbull, the Cabinet Secretary, is pressing Derek Scott, who was Mr Blair's chief economics adviser from 1997 until last December, to remove large sections of his account of his time at No 10 on the grounds that they breach the Official Secrets Act.
The book, Off Whitehall, will be published in the autumn. It is said to contain first-hand details of clashes between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.
These include accounts of "furious rows" over key issues, including European and pensions policy, "fights for territory" in Whitehall, and the state of "unbearable tension" between them before Budgets and major public spending announcements. The disclosures come from a former colleague of Mr Scott who has seen proofs of the book.
Mr Scott, 56, now an adviser to KPMG, the international accountancy group, is the first member of Mr Blair's inner circle to resign and write a book, a decision that has greatly alarmed Sir Andrew.
The book's publication is planned to coincide with the Labour Party conference in an attempt to create the maximum political impact.
The former colleague said last night: "It goes into all the details, the shouting matches, the way Blair defers to Brown, the way the Treasury keeps Downing Street in the dark, phone calls not being returned, that kind of thing.
"It details their fight for territory over the economy and Europe and the way they played off each other. Some parts are juicy, some are hilarious.
"What is perhaps most striking is how it reveals the degree of authority given to the Chancellor in a way that is historically unprecedented.
"But it also tells how there were furious rows between them, particularly over Budgets and spending reviews, when the tension could be simply unbearable."
The relationship between Mr Blair and Mr Brown has come close to breakdown over the past decade.
One of the most notable examples was last autumn when the Chancellor felt humiliated after Mr Blair failed to nominate him for a seat on Labour's National Executive Committee.
Since then their relationship has improved, although last night a Cabinet minister admitted that tensions were likely to rise again with the Prime Minister showing no signs of being ready to step down in favour of Mr Brown and pressing on with a series of five-year programmes.
The minister told The Sunday Telegraph: "Tony is working like crazy on the five-year programmes. What Gordon should remember is that they are not called five-year programmes for nothing. Tony is not going anywhere."
Mr Scott signed both a confidentiality agreement and the Official Secrets Act on taking up his Downing Street post in May 1997. In his call for cuts to the book, Sir Andrew is understood to be focusing on the sections in which certain civil servants are named.
Mr Scott's friends claim that there are "absolutely no security implications" and insist that he and his legal team are resisting the Cabinet Secretary's demand that he remove "huge chunks".
Paul Davighi, the marketing manager for I B Tauris, the book's publishers, said: "It focuses largely on the relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and the ways they have clashed on domestic and, particularly, European policy. He exposes tensions between them."
The intervention by Sir Andrew, who was permanent secretary at the Treasury under Mr Brown before being promoted, is not unprecedented. But it leaves him open to claims of using his position as head of the Civil Service to help Mr Blair to deal with a political problem.
The book is understood to tell the inside story of one of the most bitter battles between the men, over last year's decision by Mr Brown to impose punitive taxes on individual pension funds worth more than £1.4 million. Mr Blair backed by Mr Scott, opposed the plan but Mr Brown refused to give ground.
Another battleground, again thought to be detailed in the book, was the 2002 Budget announcement that National Insurance contributions were to be increased.
Again, the Prime Minister was understood to have objected, fearing the impact on middle-income voters, but he deferred to the Chancellor.
Mr Scott is also understood to have written the first insider's account of the wrangling over the timing of the announcement, in October 1997, effectively ruling out Britain joining the euro until at least the 2001 general election.
The Chancellor is said to have threatened to resign if Mr Blair, and not he, made the statement to Parliament.
Civil servants and senior Whitehall aides have to sign the Official Secrets Act when they begin working for the Government. When they leave, many sign separate confidentiality agreements.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman declined to comment last night.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
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