Former diplomat defends memoirs

Sunday, 13 November 2005 12:00 AM

The former British ambassador to the US hit back at his critics today, who said that he has broken trust with politicians by publishing his memoirs.

Christopher Meyer said that it was legitimate to reveal how politicians behave when abroad, and that he intends to "ride out" the widespread criticism.

He said he had "absolutely no plans" to resign from his role as head of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), as critics have demanded.

In his book, Sir Christopher said Tony Blair was "seduced by the glamour of US power" and failed to use his influence in Washington to get the US to draw up proper plans for the aftermath of the war in Iraq.

Foreign secretary Jack Straw and senior officials have criticised the publication of his book DC Confidential, which has been serialised in extracts in newspapers over recent weeks.

But Sir Christopher said he was confused as to why he was receiving this reaction, asking: "[It was] cleared to be published - what exactly is going on here?

"I write a book, I made a judgment between what I think is right to keep confidential and what it is right to bring out into the public gaze.

"It goes into the Cabinet Office, it pops out a couple of weeks later, and I am told they wish to make no changes to the text and then we publish."

Sir Christopher is due to be questioned on the issue next month by the Commons public administration select committee.

Speaking on BBC One's Sunday AM, he added: "I knew that what I had written would not go down well with everybody, so you expect to be criticised and you just have to ride it out."

Sir Christopher was ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003.

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