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Browne could lose his job over 'bidding frenzy' fiasco
Speculation is growing that Des Browne will lose his job as defence secretary when Gordon Brown takes over this summer.
- Evening Standard
- Published: 00:00 April 13, 2007
- Browne accepted "full responsibility" for authorising the sale of the stories, stating: "The buck stops here."
- Image Credit: Reuters
London: Speculation is growing that Des Browne will lose his job as defence secretary when Gordon Brown takes over this summer.
His position worsened as the bodies of four soldiers killed last week in Iraq were flown back to Britain, striking a solemn contrast with the bidding frenzy sanctioned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) when Faye Turney and the 14 other former Iranian captives came home.
The Chancellor is planning a sweeping reshuffle after Tony Blair quits office and MPs predicted that Browne would be moved to a less sensitive post.
Distanced
Blair distanced himself from the fiasco yesterday by saying he was not consulted on the decision. Sources said he found out from the newspapers - although some No 10 officials were aware of the situation at least a day earlier.
Former Army general Lord Ramsbotham turned up the pressure by questioning whether No 10 was really in the dark. "In my experience during the Falklands War and Beirut everything of a magnitude like this was referred to No 10," he said.
The opposition parties are demanding a full statement to fill in missing information about who knew what and when.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said yesterday: "The accounts given by the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister are carefully chosen words that leave the impression that we have not been given the full picture."
Ministers insist the decision to allow the 15 to sell their stories was taken on April 5 at the Royal Navy headquarters in Portsmouth.
Browne "noted" that decision on April 6 but did not halt the sales, which he now admits he could have done. No 10 will not say when Blair's officials were told. After uproar in the Armed Forces, the MoD banned further interviews being sold on Monday evening.
Furious
There have been signals that Downing Street is furious at the way the affair was handled by the MoD but no hint that Blair is considering a reshuffle.
In his sole TV appearance, Browne accepted "full responsibility" for authorising the sale of the stories, stating: "The buck stops here." "Clearly, with hindsight, I could have made a different decision," he said.
It was reported yesterday in the Daily Telegraph that several Navy officers have considered quitting in "total disillusion" at the MoD's handling of the controversy.
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