Afghanistan: James Arbuthnot bombards Gordon Brown
James Arbuthnot, the Tory chairman of the Defence Committee, has Gordon Brown pinned down under heavy fire over the Government’s backing for the Armed Forces in Afghanistan.
Mr Arbuthnot is hardly the flashiest of Commons performers. Lugubrious is the word most frequently attached to him. But he knows the subject and his deliberative approach is ideal for the committee room. Today’s session of the Liaison Committee was an excellent illustration.
Quizzing Mr Brown on Afghanistan, Mr Arbuthnot asked whether the PM would admit that he rejected a request from the Chief of the Defence Staff to send another 2,000 troops to Afghanistan? (It’s hardly a secret: we’ve been reporting it since April.)
But would Mr Brown admit it? Here’s his answer:
“We discussed, both in Committee and together, a number of options and we decided on the mission we are now engaged in.”
That’s a “yes” then. Not that Mr Brown would say so. Pressed to be explicit about the 2,000-soldier request, all he would say is: “A variety of options were discussed.”
The obfuscation was too much even for Mr Arbuthnot. It wouldn’t be fair to say he snapped, but his words to Mr Brown were damning: “There are two ways you deal with select committees. You can answer the questions or you can appear not to answer the questions.”
Most people watching the exchange will be clear which of those two approaches Mr Brown prefers.