Clare, the moment you left us I swear... I felt as if something somewhere...

[khaosworks]

Clare Short quits post over Iraq

International Development Secretary Clare Short has quit her cabinet job, accusing Tony Blair of breaking promises over Iraq's future.

She will be replaced in the cabinet by Baroness Amos, the Foreign Office minister who has been the government's spokeswoman on international development in the House of Lords.

The news comes just days after the controversial Labour MP had missed a crucial House of Commons vote on plans for foundation hospitals.

Ms Short had threatened to quit before the start of war with Iraq, describing Tony Blair as "reckless" during the build-up to military action.

But she decided to stay, saying that to leave on the eve of war would be "copping out" when Tony Blair had no option but to go ahead without a fresh United Nations mandate.

Ms Short told the prime minister of her decision to resign when she telephoned him just 20 minutes before the news was announced.

'Broken promises'

In her resignation letter to the prime minister, Ms Short accused Mr Blair of breaking assurances he had given her on the role of the United Nations in governing post-conflict Iraq.

She also accused the prime minister and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of "secretly" negotiating a UN Security Council resolution which contradicted promises she had given in Parliament to MPs.

"This makes my position impossible," she said.

I could be mean and make comments about how the average IQ of the Cabinet has now increased, but really, Clare has gotten so much stick over the years, it's about time she got a break because she has resigned over - tah dah - a matter of principle. You go, girl! Oh. You already went.

But then again, this isn't the first time she's quit in a huff. She did it over the 1991 Gulf War, and over the renewal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 1988 (she's Irish Catholic). And given her playing truant from the vote about foundation hospitals last week, her position was being questioned anyway, so maybe she decided to pre-empt the entire resigning over her not showing up for Cabinet meetings or crucial Commons votes and figured that resigning over Iraq would make for better press.

Did I say I was going to give her a break? Oops. Oh, okay. Maybe she did resign on principle after all. Happy?

Read Clare Short's (latest) resignation letter here. This makes what, three Ministers Blair has lost to his Iraq policies? To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: "To lose one minister may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness; to lose three means you're a little toe rag who nobody likes." Or something like that.