Labour chairman speaks out over bugging allegations
Labour chairman Ian McCartney has told the BBC that Clare Short will not be expelled from the party over her UN bugging claims. He told BBC Scotland on Saturday: “I’m not going to make her a martyr”.
She says Britain spied on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a claim Tony Blair has called “deeply irresponsible”.
The government has meanwhile said it will not release Attorney General Lord Goldsmith’s advice on the legality of the war in Iraq. A Downing Street spokesman said: “The attorney general’s advice remains confidential because of the long-standing convention that advice to governments in office is not disclosed.”
In his BBC interview, Mr McCartney accused Ms Short of having made “a terrible error of judgement” in accusing the government of spying on the UN in the run up to the war in Iraq.
But former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has said he was warned his office and home would be bugged while he was in office. Former UN chief weapons inspector, Richard Butler, has also claimed at least four countries bugged his conversations.
Ms Short says she has seen transcripts of the UN leader’s conversations. Home Secretary David Blunkett said on Friday he would look into Ms Short’s claims but criticised her for her “attempt to damage the government”.
UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said any bugging would be illegal and should be stopped.
