Office Without Power: Diaries 1968-72 by Benn Tony

Author:Benn, Tony [Benn, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446493748
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2012-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

Monday 4 May

I spent the whole morning being cross-examined by the Select Committee on Science and Technology on the Government’s computer policy. I have had more than my share of that select committee. It was a long and arduous experience but well worthwhile.

After lunch Otto and Charles Smith and other staff came in to present the problems with Concorde, which are formidable – escalation of cost, delays, refusal by the firms to have any incentive contracts on production or to bear any loss, anxieties with the French, a strike which has delayed flights of 002, and so on. It is very worrying. Ronnie Melville has been indicating his anxieties in little minutes to me which I have begun to suspect are for the record.

Then he broke in to say, ‘Well, Minister, I must tell you that my advice is that we cancel Concorde. I have come to the view we must cancel. It is not an economic aircraft,’ (of course it never had been), ‘and unless there is some overwhelming national or prestige reason for us to keep it we should cancel.’ He said that I was not to believe the figures that were coming from his officials. They always went up, and so on and so on – he really lost control.

So I said, ‘Well, this is a very serious thing to state, and you will confirm, I hope, that this is the first time you have said it to me,’ and he replied, ‘Yes.’ Ivor Manley noted that. Then I adjourned the meeting.

Afterwards I had a talk with Otto and told him I was very uneasy about this because it looked as though Ronnie had been building up to a break and this was the most embarrassing moment to do it: I didn’t object that he had come to that conclusion, but he could have informed me in a different way.

Otto tried to defend him, saying that Ronnie was very upset and felt it was his duty to give me notice in advance of the report so that I didn’t wait for the report to come. But I think Otto himself was pretty worried about what had happened. I said I thought this would make it very difficult for Ronnie to become Comptroller and Auditor-General, which was the job that had been set aside for him, because he would be investigating a project which he had himself masterminded and on which he changed his mind at a late stage.

Tuesday 5 May

A Cabinet on Cambodia and Michael Stewart began by making the most rigid speech. The decision of the Americans to march into Cambodia has triggered off the most tremendous demonstrations in the United States and here we are on the eve of an Election with the possibility of a revolt in the PLP.

There was in fact something of a consensus at Cabinet. I spoke and I said that I thought a formal statement would not be enough, that it wouldn’t meet the public mood. We really couldn’t support the Americans this time.

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