Defence Minister: Clegg axed me because I won't support attack on Iran

Mail Online
MARK NICOL and BRENDAN CARLIN

A Liberal Democrat Defence Minister has claimed he was sacked to avoid a damaging Coalition split over a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

Former Armed Forces Minister Sir Nick Harvey told friends that he  was fired in the reshuffle to allow Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg  to sign Britain up to an Israeli-US preventive strike to take out Iran’s nuclear installations.

Friends of Sir Nick – who was handed a knighthood just days later – say that he could have embarrassed the Lib Dem leader by being too critical of Israel’s actions if he had still been in the key Ministry of Defence post.

The row broke as sources confirmed that British intelligence agents are already deeply involved in attempts to discover Iran’s nuclear secrets.

It is also understood that the US has asked Britain to provide frigates to patrol the Straits of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil passes.

The sacking of the respected  Minister took MPs and Army top brass by surprise.

Party sources have insisted the move – which has left the Ministry of Defence staffed entirely by Tories – was due to Mr Clegg’s decision to accept Lib Dem ministerial jobs in other, more ‘voter-friendly’ Government departments.

But when approached by The Mail on Sunday, Sir Nick confirmed he had considered his sacking was linked to mounting speculation of a pre-emptive strike on Iran and the expectation that UK forces would be drawn in afterwards. However, the MP went  on to say he had since discounted  that theory.

‘I have cast my mind over the issues that might have led the party leader  to this decision,’ he added. 

Sir Harvey told friends that he was fired in the reshuffle to allow Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, pictured, to sign Britain up to an Israel-US preventive strike to take out Iran's nuclear installations

‘But having toyed with that one, I have decided it could not have played any part in it.’

However, one party insider said the idea made sense, adding: ‘With our record over opposing the Iraq War, no one in our party is going to congratulate Israel on launching a strike.

‘But Nick may have been particularly outspoken, especially in the immediate aftermath and when we’re bound to get caught in cleaning up the mess alongside the Americans.

‘He probably takes the view that we’d need to give a particularly strong condemnation of Israel to show  the Arab world that we didn’t approve. However, that could have caused a problem for some of Clegg’s Tory  Coalition colleagues.’

The reshuffle earlier this month came amid renewed speculation  that Israel is planning to launch a  unilateral attack to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, appeared to hint that he believed the US would join his country in the pre-emptive attack

Only last weekend, Israel’s defence minister Ehud Barak appeared to hint that he believed the US would join his country in the pre-emptive attack.

There were also reports that  US President Barack Obama was  poised to set out the ‘red lines’ that would trigger an American attack if Iran continued to press ahead with its nuclear programme.

MoD sources yesterday confirmed that contingency talks over the dispatch of Royal Navy minesweepers to the Gulf had already been held.

Last night, Professor Malcolm Chalmers, of the Royal United  Services Institute, suggested that  the Lib Dem reshuffle arrangements would not release the party from  difficult defence decisions as part of the Coalition.

He said: ‘The United Kingdom is doing everything it can to keep a  handle on what the Iranians are  doing and we have got a lot of well-developed sources in the region –  signals and human intelligence.

‘The Liberal Democrats cannot  simply wash their hands of national security issues by removing their  Ministers from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office.

‘As a member of the National Security Council, Nick Clegg is briefed on the latest intelligence on Iran and will continue to be so.

‘Clegg could adopt a position of agreeing to disagree, raising his objections to the Prime Minister but saying go ahead.’ 

Dr Anthony Cordesman, an expert on Iran at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, said the US and Britain were sharing ‘a great deal of intelligence at this time’. 

Sources close to Mr Clegg last night denied the Iran situation had played a part in the decision to remove Sir Nick.

Cameron tells Greece: buy into austerity or get out of the eurozone

Prime Minister insists that world cannot afford to wait for answers on future of single currency

The Independent
David Osborne
Andy McSmith

David Cameron has issued his bluntest warning yet to Greece that voters need to "meet their commitments" as a member of the eurozone in elections next month or leave the currency union.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Chicago, and three days before a crucial EU meeting, the Prime Minister said the leaders of the eurozone must now prepare for either outcome and be ready for the repercussions of the Greek vote, set for 17 June. The poll was called after Greek parties failed to form a new government earlier this month.

"We are coming to a decision point where Greece is going to vote. It has to be absolutely clear there is a choice: they can vote to stay in the eurozone and meet their commitments, or they can vote to give up on their commitments and effectively give up on the eurozone," Mr Cameron said. No one could tell Greece's parties what to do, but he can have left them in no doubt of how he feels. "The choice Greece faces is maintaining its commitments and maintaining its place in the eurozone or deciding that's not the path it wants to take.

"What is required is decisiveness, strong actions by government – whether action to deal with deficits, to deal with the banks, to calm markets," he said.

"The eurozone has to put in place the most robust contingency plans for both eventualities because the world is suffering from continued uncertainty in the eurozone. So this is a decision point."

Mr Cameron also defended the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose insistence on austerity has been blamed for preventing the G8 summit from making progress.

"Obviously she wants to make sure that countries in the eurozone that signed up to all sorts of commitments meet those commitments. She did show some flexibility in terms of what more can be done on the growth agenda."

Mr Clarke, a lifelong Euro-enthusiast, said staying in the euro is still an option for Greece.
"But if they get a lot of cranky extremists elected, they will default on their debt and everybody says they will leave the euro. For the Greeks, that will be disastrous. They will encounter real poverty," he warned.

David Cameron: there is no going back on austerity

MyTechnologyWorld9

David Cameron is to declare that there is “no going back” on harsh spending cuts after seeing the leaders of France and Greece swept from power by public anger at austerity.

Two years on from their sun-dappled press conference in the Downing Street rose garden, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will restate the case for the Coalition to 'rescue the economy from the mess left by Labour'

The eurozone is in “extreme trouble” and headwinds from the turmoil threaten Britain’s recovery, he will warn.

In a rare joint appearance with Nick Clegg, the Prime Minister and his Deputy will rededicate themselves and their parties to protecting the country from “the financial storm”.

Two years on from their sun-dappled press conference in the Downing Street rose garden, the Liberal Democrat and Conservative leaders will restate the case for the Coalition to “rescue the economy from the mess left by Labour”.

Their pledge will come against a backdrop of turbulence in the markets and the election results in France and Greece, which saw two pro-austerity administrations ousted.

At one point yesterday, the euro fell to a three-year low against the pound, while analysts predicted that Greece would be forced to leave the eurozone, greatly increasing the risk of economic “contagion” to other European countries.

The elections showed that large numbers of voters believed there was an alternative to the austerity measures imposed by governments and international funds since the global financial crisis.

UK to take major role in making new 'eurodrones'

The Independent
John Lichfield
Nigel Morris

Plans to build a new generation of "fighter drones" that can wage war by remote control are set to be agreed today by Britain and France. David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy are preparing to put their recent tensions behind them to launch proposals for the pilotless stealth aircraft at a summit in Paris. In a second agreement, they will promise closer co-operation on civil nuclear power.

Western nations increasingly regard the deployment of drones to launch surgical strikes on targets as a way of keeping military casualties to a minimum.

Several senior al-Qa'ida figures have been killed by unmanned American drones flying over Pakistan, while British drone missions could begin within months over Afghanistan. Critics claim the aircraft can cause "collateral damage" among civilians and that the low risk to service personnel from their use can encourage countries to turn to military force rather than diplomacy.

But the two leaders are preparing to put any qualms to one side as they sign a letter of intent of cross-Channel cooperation on the project.

Under the plan, Britain's BAE and the French planemaker Dassault – rivals in the battle for sales of the present generation of fighter planes – will be asked to collaborate in the creation of a prototype of a Star Wars-type, ground-controlled "fighter drone" by 2020. Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy are expected to present the project as proof of continuing – or revived – Anglo-French friendship despite last year's rift over tighter fiscal discipline in the eurozone.

The Paris summit, delayed from last November, will be the first lengthy one-on-one meeting between the two leaders since Mr Cameron vetoed an EU-wide fiscal pact in early December.

Mr Cameron will be accompanied by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, and Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary. The two governments will sign a declaration signalling their commitment to nuclear power as a source of safe and affordable energy that will also help cut carbon emissions.

Under the agreement, British and French public and private sector bodies in the civil nuclear power industry will work more closely on education and training, research and development and security. The two sets of ministers will also discuss cooperation in transport. Mr Cameron last night stressed the "strength and depth of Britain's ties with France". He said: "Our commercial relationship is deep and growing with exports increasing and French investment sustaining almost 10,000 jobs in the UK. Our militaries are working together on cutting-edge military technology. This relationship is vital for the national security and the prosperity of both Britain and France."

The Franco-British "fighter drone" would take aerial combat into a new age, replacing all the "conventional" piloted fighter-planes now on offer. The two governments are thought to be ready to put a modest amount of public cash into the project at this stage.

The possibility of French and British co-operation on a drone aircraft – or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) – was first mentioned in November 2010 when Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy signed a defence treaty committing the two countries to co-operate in military deployment and research. French sources said yesterday that German or Italian, or wider European, participation in the project would be welcomed. But the newspaper Les Echos reported yesterday the letter of intent to be signed by Mr Sarkozy and Mr Cameron was intended as a signal that the project would be under Anglo-French leadership.