International

Reid debunks Blair's claim

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair's vehement denial that his foreign policy has contributed to spread of terrorism has been contradicted by one of his own senior Cabinet colleagues reflecting growing frustration at the top with his policy on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Home Secretary John Reid, who is generally on-message and is known as a Blair "loyalist'', reportedly questioned the idea that foreign policy had nothing to do with "radicalisation'' of young Muslims who then went on to become terrorists. He said it was better to be "frank'' about it and acknowledge the foreign policy as a "factor'' behind extremism.

"I do believe that foreign policy is sometimes a motivating factor in radicalisation of young Muslims and the potential recruitment to terror. It is better to be frank about it. To say it isn't a cause isn't to say it has nothing to do with the whole process,'' Mr. Reid said in a newspaper interview.

His remarks were seen as challenging Mr. Blair's claim that it was "rubbish'' to blame his foreign policy for the rise of Muslim radicalism. Two days ago, another senior Cabinet Minister Margaret Hodge was reported as having said at a private dinner sometime ago that she had always questioned Mr. Blair's approach to foreign affairs. She had also reportedly accused him of "moral imperialism'' by seeking to export British values to other countries.

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