Short said Blair "is in danger of destroying his legacy as he becomes increasingly obsessed by his place in history."

LONDON, May 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Former secretary of international development Claire Short lashed out Tuesday, May 13, at "control freak" British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in what is seen as the most vociferous and acrimonious resignation speech to MPs in a decade.

Short warned Blair that he was sacrificing the trust of nation and party for his place in history, the Mirror newspaper reported.

In an 11-minute diatribe before the House of Commons, she said: "In our first term the problem was spin that undermined trust for Government.

"It was accompanied by a control freak style, which has created many of the problems undermining the success of our reforms.

In the second term, resigned short stressed, "the problem is centralization of power into the hands of the Prime Minister and a small number of advisers who make decisions in private.

"There is no real collective responsibility - just diktats in favor of badly thought through initiatives.

"He has achieved great things since 1997. But, paradoxically, he is in danger of destroying his legacy as he becomes increasingly obsessed by his place in history," said Short.

The outgoing secretary also criticized the British parliamentary system, which passed wrong-headed decisions, thanks to "the automatic majority" in the parliament.

"Thus we have the powers of a presidential type system with the automatic majority of a Parliamentary system.

"These arrangements are leading to increasingly poor policy initiatives being rammed through Parliament, abusing party loyalty and undermining respect for our political system," she stressed.

"These attitudes are also causing increasing problems with reform of the public services…Increasingly, those who are wielding power are not accountable and not scrutinized."

Hollow Promises

Now that what had been done cannot be undone, Ms. Short said she resigned because Blair did not fulfill promises and assurances he gave her about a U.N. mandate for postwar Iraq, asserting that Britain and America were trying to set up an illegal administration in Baghdad and "bully" the U.N.

She also accused him and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of cutting her out of "secret negotiations" which would now lead to an unlawful government in Iraq.

"We must work to prevent Government departing from the best values of the party," said the resigned official.

However Blair made no effort to persuade her to stay in an abundantly clear message that he would not tolerate any stance running against his. 

He took just 25 minutes to appoint Foreign Office Minister Baroness Amos as her replacement.

Blair wrote in response to Short’s departure: "I know you have had doubts about the Government position on Iraq. I do not understand your point about the U.N."

On March 10, Short threatened to resign if Blair followed the United States into a war on Iraq without U.N. authorization.

She was not the only official to quit Blair’s government over his Iraq policy.

On Monday, March 17, former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook resigned from the government protesting Blair’s decision to go to war without U.N. mandate.

"It is with regret I have today resigned from the cabinet,” Cook said, asserting "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support."