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PMQs - The Verdict
Edward Davie
The last prime minister's questions before recess and the anniversary of the Easter Rising. Appropriately enough the session began with congratulations all round for the apparent restoration of devolution to Northern Ireland after a historic deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
But as one conflict appears to have been resolved another dangerous situation - with Iran - seems to be worsening after the capture of British service personnel in the Gulf.
David Cameron used his opening set of questions to ask the prime minister about the government's approach to the diplomatic crisis.
"Whilst the prime minister mustn't say anything that would jeapordise the situation can he tell us what that [taking negotiations to a different phase] would involve?" It seemed something of a contradiction to jeering Labour MPs.
Tony Blair revealed that the co-ordinates of the British forces released to the government by Iran confirmed that they were well inside Iraqi waters. When this was pointed out to Tehran they changed the co-ordinates showing that their figures are more slippery than Gordon Brown's Budget.
Having started in a reasonably bi-partisan and statesmanlike way the Tory leader fluffed it by saying the prime minister should make sure British forces were clear on their "rules of engagement".
Labour backbenchers thought it was pretty ridiculous to suggest that the military did not know this already.
Blair pointed out that if a rubber dingy crewed by 15 lightly armed British marines had taken on six heavily armed Iranian vessels the outcome would not have been good.
Foreign affairs expert Sir Menzies Campbell underlined Cameron's blunder by refraining from comment on the matter other than to say: "May I content myself to simply offer my support to the government in its efforts to secure the early release of our marines and sailors."
In an unusually confident performance the Lib Dem leader followed up by pointing out that the poorest fifth of people in the UK have a lower share of national income than they did in 1997.
Blair's refutation was a baffling list of figures and measures taken that somehow proved that was not the case.
Sir Menzies went on to draw attention to the chancellor's decision to axe the bottom rate of income tax which will make childless low earners worse off.
Traditionally the champion of the poorest in society Labour does seem vulnerable in this area and Blair was not at his most convincing.
David Cameron used his second set of questions to carry on the Budget-attacking theme by saying that it would damage small business.
Blair batted it away with one of his favourite shots - pointing out that Cameron's main experience of having an influence on the economy was as an adviser to Norman Lamont prior to Black Wednesday.
Scottish Labour MPs are clearly spooked by a series of opinion polls indicating that the SNP will have the largest number of seats following May's Scottish parliamentary election.
Three of them asked the prime minister to outline why a nationalist government in Edinburgh would be a disaster.
During one of these enquiries Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland passed his chewing gum down the bench to SNP leader Alex Salmond - an indication of the make-up of a future coalition perhaps.
The Verdict
Tony Blair - 7/10 - Good on Iran and Northern Ireland less so on the Budget.
David Cameron - 6/10 - Showed diplomatic inexperience with his questions about captured British service personnel.
Sir Menzies Campbell - 8/10 - Underlined the Tory leader's gaffe on Iran and asked some tough questions of Blair on poverty.
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Published: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:27:22 GMT+01
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