Tories: Stunning failure of judgment

Friday, 03, Oct 2008 12:00

William Hague , shadow foreign secretary, comments on today's reshuffle:

"Today's reshuffle demonstrates a stunning failure of judgment by Gordon Brown.

"In bringing back Peter Mandelson – the man who created Labour spin – he has broken his promise to govern in an honest and open way. You can only conclude that his appointment was designed to distract from the changes he should have made.

"By leaving in place a chancellor who has failed and a foreign secretary who has undermined him at every opportunity Gordon Brown has also been exposed as weak.

"With this bizarre reshuffle the prime minister has achieved the impossible and made the government even more dysfunctional."