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| Wednesday, 12 February, 2003, 12:49 GMT Prime Minister's Questions ![]() BBC News Online's Nick Assinder gives his instant view on the winners and losers during Tony Blair's weekly grilling in the House of Commons. Tony Blair's message to Stop the War protesters ahead of this weekend's march in London. Mr Blair's vow to take "full account" of any such request will not have set Mr Kennedy's mind at rest. You could almost hear the prime minister sighing with exasperation. He later attacked Tony Blair's policies on asylum. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy asked whether the prime minister would agree to any request from Dr Hans Blix for more time to be given to UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. Other subjects raised included anti-war viewpoints; allowances for military personnel; gun crime; security alert at Heathrow; London Underground safety; the plagiarised dossier; Council Tax increases and pensioners. The prime minister faced the predictable barrage of attacks on his policy towards Iraq - most of it from his own backbenches. He knows he has to pull out all the stops if, at this very late stage, he is to win over opinion behind war. Linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda, lifting "dodgy dossiers" off the internet and insisting Iraq has weapons of mass destruction have all failed. So today - amid claims Britain is facing a specific terrorist threat as big as 11 September (an issue which was bizarrely left un-explored) - he switched ground. And it was the moral high ground he was moving on to. He confessed his sanctions policy was a disaster, thanks to Saddam, and left mass poverty and starving children in Iraq. And he used the words morals and morality at least half a dozen times. This was the prime minister no longer arguing the toss over details of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. It was the prime minister laying out a moral and emotional case. There will be more to come in the next few days. Meanwhile, Iain Duncan Smith did it again - he must have a new script writer. He savaged the prime minister for making up policy on the hoof every time he went into a TV studio. And he laid into him over his pledge to cut asylum numbers in half by September. But far from retreating, the prime minister actually strengthened his commitment. This is now a firm pledge and he has invited us all to judge him on the results in the autumn. He is clearly supremely confident that his current policies will work - or he has something up his sleeve. Do you agree with Nick? Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published. |
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