“It is quite another to go over the top and make whole areas no-go areas for teenagers after a certain hour in the evening.”. Prime Minister Tony Blair today told the House of Commons that the Nice summit had strengthened Britain’s position in Europe and created a real chance of consigning the Continent’s troubled past to history. Prime Minister Tony Blair today told the House of Commons that the Nice summit had strengthened Britain’s position in Europe and created a real chance of consigning the Continent’s troubled past to history.
He said agreements reached had benefitted Britain by guaranteeing more voting strength while removing all remaining institutional obstacles to enlargement.Mr Blair told MPs that Britain, along with France and Germany, would be able to block proposals even after enlargement.And he said Britain’s backing of the European defence force would secure a strategic partnership with NATO and protect the country’s national interest.It was in Britain’s interests, he added, that in the enlarged EU there would be some issues where some member states moved ahead faster than others.Mr Blair also said that with the introduction of six new states by 2006, Britain making a net financial contribution to the EU roughly equivalent to France and Italy for the first timeHis remarks were immediately countered by Conservative leader William Hague.He claimed Mr Blair had “signed away” Britain’s veto in 23 areas, giving European institutions an opportunity to impose further integration against Britain’s will.Mr Hague said the Charter of Fundamental Rights and European defence force were further moves towards greater integration.He added: “The EU defence force will progressively move away from Nato.”The treat would not be ratified by a Conservative government, Mr Hague said.. William Hague has secretly written off scores of seats at the general election to concentrate on regaining constituencies lost to Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the last election. William Hague has secretly written off scores of seats at the general election to concentrate on regaining constituencies lost to Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the last election.
Conservative strategists have “twinned” constituencies they cannot win with 178 target seats to make the best use of manpower and resources. Tory candidates who stand no chance of winning have been told to channel campaign time and manpower into gaining their target “twin” seat, which in some cases is up to 100 miles away.Confidential campaign instructions sent to Tory candidates and senior constituency figures reveal that dozens of constituencies have been told by the party to canvass and deliver leaflets in a designated “twin” target seat.

A memo sent to senior party officials, entitled From Reigate to Rotherham, outlines the Tories’ general election plans to “write off” unwinnable seats.”We have divided constituencies into two categories: our target seats, the seats we need to gain if we are to form the next government; and majority seats, seats we are confident of holding comfortably, and seats where our opponents are currently well dug in,” the memo sent out after the Tory party conference says.”Each majority seat is being asked to give support to a specific target seat. But activists from majority seats are not being asked to abandon their own constituencies.”Tories are concerned that they do not have enough foot soldiers on the ground to allow a massive push in each constituency in the country. Party chiefs have told candidates who have little chance of overturning a Labour or Liberal Democrat majority to campaign in their “twin” winnable seat right up until election day.They are expected to rally local Tory activists to travel to their “twin” constituency. Safe Tory seats such as Kensington and Chelsea, whose MP is Michael Portillo, the shadow Chancellor, will be among those earmarked as a “majority seat”. Target seats include Milton Keynes North East, which swung to Labour from the Tories at the last election with a 240 majority.Tories will also try to bolster the Meriden constituency of Caroline Spelman, the front-bench Tory MP who has a vulnerable majority of 582. The Tories stand little chance of denting Labour’s huge majority without regaining a clutch of seats that unexpectedly swung to Labour at the last election. These include Michael Portillo’s old seat, Enfield Southgate, where Labour succeeded in overturning a 15,545 majority.

Tory campaign workers had assumed the seat was safe.The “twinning” system is intended to force local Conservatives to look outside their constituency boundaries at the broader campaign picture.”In the past, most constituency associations have been very tribal. They wouldn’t even go and leaflet a couple of miles away, let alone go and campaign in a key constituency half-way across the country,” said a senior Conservative figure. “But any good general will tell you that you win by concentrating your forces.”. The Court of Appeal has heard Mohammed Al Fayed accused of “gross impropriety” over last year’s libel case against former MP Neil Hamilton. The Court of Appeal has heard Mohammed Al Fayed accused of “gross impropriety” over last year’s libel case against former MP Neil Hamilton.
The accusation – made by Mr Hamilton’s lawyer, Anthony Boswood QC – is the centrepiece of the ex-Tatton MP’s appeal against a jury’s decision that he had not been libelled.Mr Hamilton brought the original libel action after allegations in a Channel 4 Dispatches programme in 1997, which he claimed were false.Dispatches alleged he had corruptly demanded and accepted cash, gift vouchers and a free holiday at the Paris Ritz in return for asking parliamentary questions on behalf of Mr Al Fayed.Losing the high-profile case left Mr Hamilton with £2 million court costs.At the Appeal Court today, Mr Boswood said Mr Al Fayed was involved in paying £10,000 for documents stolen from rubbish bags outside the chambers of Mr Hamilton’s counsel.Mr Boswood told the court that Mr Hamilton would not have lost the libel trial had the jury known about the payment.He told Lord Phillips, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Sedley and Lady Justice Hale: “We submit that the mere fact of the gross impropriety of their behaviour is sufficient to invalidate the trial.”The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow..

A Flemish politician’s proposal to downgrade Brussels’ status from one of Belgium’s three regions to a powerless “European district” has reignited the country’s simmering language battle. A Flemish politician’s proposal to downgrade Brussels’ status from one of Belgium’s three regions to a powerless “European district” has reignited the country’s simmering language battle.
In an interview with the French-language daily Le Soir on Saturday, Patrick Dewael, head of the regional government in Belgium’s northern Flemish-speaking area, revived the idea of turning the capital into a district along the lines of Washington DC.Belgium has three regions: Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia to the south and the Brussels-Capital region, which is part of Flanders but also majority French-speaking. The existence of a French-speaking Brussels state in their midst has long angered Flemish nationalists.”Economically, Brussels is not viable as a region.” Mr Dewael, a Liberal, said.. Three unidentified gunmen raked a police bus with automatic weapons, wounding 11 officers in Istanbul, police said. Three unidentified gunmen raked a police bus with automatic weapons, wounding 11 officers in Istanbul, police said.
Private television NTV said 11 officers were injured and four were in critical condition.A police officer in Istanbul confirmed that a police bus had been attacked in Gazi. He said authorities had made an appeal for blood donations, but gave no other details.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the low income district of Gazi.NTV showed images of the bus with stains of blood on its floor and seats.