The Byers saga hits Blair poll rating

Published on Thursday 28 February 2002 00:00

TONY Blair’s personal rating has taken a blow following the Stephen Byers and Mittal controversies, according to an opinion poll published last night.

A total of 46 per cent of those surveyed by Mori for the Times said they were satisfied with the Prime Minister, who was yesterday accused during Prime Minister’s Question Time of harbouring liars in his Cabinet. A month ago, 51 per cent were satisfied.

The same percentage of voters – 46 per cent – were dissatisfied with Mr Blair, up from 39 per cent a month last month.

Satisfaction with the government as a whole has also been hit – 53 per cent were dissatisfied, up from 45 per cent last month, while 37 per cent said they were satisfied, six points lower than a month ago.

Meanwhile the majority – 54 per cent – believed the government was just as sleazy as the previous Conservative government.

Some 18 per cent believed Mr Blair’s government is more sleazy than John Major’s, while 22 per cent believed it to be less sleazy.

However, 51 per cent said they would still vote Labour, unchanged from a month ago, 28 per cent would vote Conservative, up one point, while the Liberal Democrats were also unchanged on 16 per cent.

Mori interviewed 1,965 adults from February 21 to 26.

The poll ratings came as fresh allegations emerged that Mr Byers had misled the Commons over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Martin Sixsmith, his former director of communications.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Transport Secretary told the House there was no “linkage” between the resignation of his special adviser Jo Moore and Mr Sixsmith.

But a 18,000-word dossier on the affair released by Mr Sixsmith details a conversation with Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister’s director of communications, in which he suggests Mr Byers vetoed moves to keep Mr Sixsmith in the civil service.

The dossier also claims Sir Richard Mottram, the permanent secretary at the troubled department, admitted Mr Byers had promised Ms Moore that Mr Sixsmith would quit if she did.

Mr Sixsmith’s allegations appear to contradict the statement to the House when Mr Byers insisted there were no conditions attached to the resignation of Ms Moore.

In the Commons yesterday, the Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, attacked Mr Blair for failing to sack Mr Byers, saying he had reneged on his key 1994 promise that he would dismiss any minister who was caught lying.

Mr Blair, however, vigorously defended the Transport Secretary – saying he had not lied and his main problem is the damage done by the Tory programme of rail privatisation.

In a heated Prime Minister’s Question Time, Mr Duncan Smith asked Mr Blair: “Before you came to power you said, ‘I would expect ministers in a government I lead to resign if they lie’.

“If that’s so, why is the Transport Secretary still in his job on the benches next to you?”

With Mr Byers sitting alongside him, Mr Blair said: “I don’t accept what you have said.”

Mr Duncan Smith’s citation, however, was itself edited to give a misleading effect. Mr Blair’s full quote, delivered during Labour’s leadership election, said he would expect resignations from ministers who “lie to parliament”.

Mr Byers stands accused of lying on ITV’s Dimbleby programme last Sunday, when he said he had “no involvement” in the severance talks with Martin Sixsmith, his press chief.

He used the House of Commons to correct his statement on Tuesday, admitting that he had, after all, tried to veto Mr Sixsmith getting any other job in government.

Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, mocked the Tories’ failure to capitalise on Mr Byers’s position through Mr Duncan Smith’s “somewhat inadequate” questions.

Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party MPs, said last night that the Question Time session proved that neither party can be trusted.

“Stephen Byers lied on TV, which is just as bad as in the House of Commons, and then Iain Duncan Smith twisted the Blair quote,” he said.