Tory rumblings over gung-ho Cameron

Published on Wednesday 27 August 2008 21:52

INSIDE WESTMINSTER

THE stand-off involving Russia and Georgia that threatens to suck in the rest of the world is also creating friction on the domestic front.

The Scotsman understands there is not exactly universal support in the Tory ranks for leader David Cameron's strident tone against Moscow.

It has been pointed out by sources that William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, had given a more muted response in the immediate aftermath of the incursion. In fact, the normally outspoken MP has been deafeningly silent on the issue of late. Could this be because his leader has seized the agenda and, according to critics, got carried away with it?

Meanwhile, former Cabinet minister John Redwood appears to be openly critical of the tone taken. On his blog, he has called for the Tory party to take a more "considered" view on Russia, while condemning its incursion into Georgia. "We need to think before we speak, and plan and act before we commit ourselves too deeply, beyond the range and strength of our power," he writes. His words will be interpreted as a challenge to Mr Cameron to consider whether Britain has the military might to take a tougher stand on the latest Caucasus crisis.

More light is shed on Tory plans for British defence policy in a largely friendly book by the GQ editor, Dylan Jones. In Cameron on Cameron, the Tory leader seems to hint that a Conservative government will spend more on defence.

"There is a very strong case for a bigger army, and this will sound like a fudge but it isn't meant to be: what we need is a defence review based on our national security, not on Treasury guidelines, and that will tell us either that we need to reduce the commitments that we have or we need to increase spending," he says.

Some MPs have applauded Mr Cameron's stance on Russia, not least because it has allowed him to be seen to take the lead, compared with the government's slow response.

There is another front developing that Mr Cameron is being warned about. An insider close to Team Cameron has voiced concern about the increasingly statesmanlike role that Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, is taking. With all eyes on him in Beijing, the one-time clown is accused of letting power go to his head. One insider said he was aping Winston Churchill, in poses with his "belly out, hands in his pockets, constant references to classical mythology".

If the Tory leader does not watch out, he may be uttering "Et tu Boris?" in a few years.