Sane does not object to families remaining anonymous if they wish. Seven years is too long, it is time to rethink the sanctions regime.
SIMON FAULKNERCampaign Against Repression and For Democratic Rights in Iraq, North WestManchester. Despite the attempts of Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, to make the sanctions policy look positive, killing is killing, it is not kindness. The sanctions policy was barbaric in the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991, it is even more barbaric six years later, when it no longer appears to serve any purpose other than to maintain the status quo in the Middle East. Until something does go seriously wrong, all judgements are bound to remain heavily provisional.. Sir: Geoff Simons (Letters; “Iraqis killed by sanctions”, 1 August) is correct in pointing out yet more gaps in New Labour’s supposed ethical foreign policy, but his point needs further emphasis.

The UK is not merely a member of the Security Council which renews sanctions on Iraq every two months, but is also, alongside the US, the principal supporter of the sanctions regime. Britain therefore bears considerable responsibility for the deaths resulting from what is termed in polite political conversation “the containment of Iraq”. Neither the values nor the character of Mr Blair have been tested by crisis – partly because this Labour Government unexpectedly faced a sterling appreciation crisis, rather than devaluation, on coming to office. So far, what is striking about his values is how unspecific and consensual they are.

Mr Blair would no doubt protest that policies will also be judged against “values”, but this is perhaps the largest area of outstanding doubt. In his eagerness to bring in business leaders, Mr Blair has tripped up on the sleaze issue, simply because it never occurred to him that he would be judged by the same standards as the outgoing government. But in the longer term, the significance of Lord Simon’s appointment is as a token of Mr Blair’s pluralism. He has brought in Liberal Democrats and given free rein to Labour figures such as Frank Field and Stephen Byers, whose views most jangle ancient inner-party nerves.And proposals will be tested against pragmatic criteria – and, above all, market-tested with focus groups and opinion polls. The one big decision directly attributed to the Prime Minister was heavily presentational – the go-ahead for the Millennium Dome – which is why the job then passed on to Mr Blair’s other closest political ally, Peter Mandelson.It is clearer than ever that policy will be looked at regardless of where it comes from. Mr Brown is firmly in the driving seat when it comes to the domestic policy decisions that matter: independence for the Bank of England, the “welfare-to-work” programme, billions from the reserves for education. David Blunkett astutely recognised the importance of this point, flooding the Chancellor with memos.