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Version 6 Version 7
I haven't gagged Woolas - Smith I haven't gagged Woolas - Smith
(about 11 hours later)
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has denied "gagging" new immigration minister Phil Woolas after her department pulled him from BBC One's Question Time.Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has denied "gagging" new immigration minister Phil Woolas after her department pulled him from BBC One's Question Time.
It follows a series of controversial remarks since he took up the job.It follows a series of controversial remarks since he took up the job.
The Home Office offered work minister Tony McNulty instead. But Question Time editors, who decide panel members, have invited Lord Hattersley to appear. The Home Office offered work minister Tony McNulty instead. But Question Time editors, who decide panel members, invited Lord Hattersley to appear.
Ms Smith said: "I haven't decided to gag him... he's been doing a very good job as my immigration minister." Lord Hattersley hit out at Mr Woolas, saying the idea of a population cap was "not Labour policy and nor will it be".
She told BBC Radio 4's World at One that "quite rightly" he had "been appearing in the media in the recent week". Mr Woolas hit the headlines when he appeared to call for a 70 million limit on Britain's population, in an interview in Saturday's Times.
The Home Office had earlier pulled Mr Woolas from the flagship political discussion programme on the grounds that "the government decided that the economy and jobs were very live issues and wanted to have a minister on at cabinet level who could deal with these issues".
'Contradiction'
Issues discussed during the programme are decided by the audience - it is likely that Mr Woolas would have faced questions about his recent immigration comments, and his prediction of the eventual disestablishment of the Church of England.
Phil Woolas interview on Politics Show
He hit the headlines when he appeared to call for a 70 million limit on Britain's population, in an interview in Saturday's Times.
On Sunday he rowed back on these comments during a BBC Politics Show interview but then found himself in further hot water on Monday when he appeared to attack the government's managed migration policy.On Sunday he rowed back on these comments during a BBC Politics Show interview but then found himself in further hot water on Monday when he appeared to attack the government's managed migration policy.
In a debate in central London, he said the failure to fund asylum removals properly had caused "untold human misery and division" and said Britain could learn from the more hard line Dutch approach to immigration.In a debate in central London, he said the failure to fund asylum removals properly had caused "untold human misery and division" and said Britain could learn from the more hard line Dutch approach to immigration.
He later issued a "clarification", stressing that he had been referring to the policies of all previous governments not just the current Labour administration.He later issued a "clarification", stressing that he had been referring to the policies of all previous governments not just the current Labour administration.
'Nature of the beast' 'Contradiction'
The Conservatives claimed the minister had been "pulled" from opening a debate on border controls in the Commons on Tuesday over fears he would make more gaffes. Issues discussed during Question Time are decided by the audience - it is likely that Mr Woolas would have faced questions about his recent immigration comments, and his prediction of the eventual disestablishment of the Church of England.
But the Home Office said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had decided last Friday to represent the government in the debate and Downing Street said it had full confidence in the minister, who took over the immigration brief earlier this month. Other panellists on Question Time attacked Mr Woolas for his recent comments while criticising Labour for withdrawing him from the show in Peterborough.
Instead Mr Woolas summed up for the government at the end of the four-hour debate, which saw some Conservative MPs attempt to make capital out of his Times interview. Baroness Warsi, Tory spokesman for community cohesion, said it was a "real shame" Mr Woolas was not able to "defend" his comments and questioned how the public could trust him if he could not be trusted to appear on the programme.
Mr Woolas brushed off the controversy as being the "nature of the beast" and urged MPs not to question each other's motives in the Commons. SNP leader Alex Salmond said some of Mr Woolas' comments about immigration were "deeply cynical and deserved to be deplored".
But he was pitched into fresh controversy on Wednesday when The Times released unpublished quotes from his weekend interview, in which he predicted the eventual disestablishment of the Church of England. For the Lib Dems, Jo Swinson said the government did not want the immigration minister on the programme "because he had actually the guts to say the system was not working".
Mr Woolas was pitched into fresh controversy on Wednesday when The Times released unpublished quotes from his weekend interview, in which he predicted the eventual disestablishment of the Church of England.
He argued that the government's Lords reform programme will eventually lead to the historic links between Church and state being cut.He argued that the government's Lords reform programme will eventually lead to the historic links between Church and state being cut.
The government distanced itself from the minister's comments and the Church of England emphasised its continued commitment to its role at the heart of the British constitution, with the Queen as its head.The government distanced itself from the minister's comments and the Church of England emphasised its continued commitment to its role at the heart of the British constitution, with the Queen as its head.