Prescott risks rift over Nats sell-off
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Your support makes all the difference.John Prescott is to take an uncompromising stand today and tell Labour rebels opposed to his plans for air traffic control semi-privatisation that he is not prepared to back down. He will risk a rift with backbenchers by telling them at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party not to "expect any changes".
The dispute threatens to plunge the Government into more controversy after expected defeats in tomorrow's London mayoral and local elections. A Labour MP said: "Pushing ahead with this ...shows a brilliant talent for bad publicity. We are becoming the cock-up kings." The rebels, led by Brian Donohoe, MP for Cunninghame South, met last night at the Commons to agree tactics for amendments next week to the Deputy Prime Minister's Bill on the National Air Traffic Service (Nats).
Mr Donohoe, a member of the Commons select committee that attacked the scheme, said he would seek changes to the Bill to ensure foreign bidders could not take over Nats and that the Nats centres for Scotland and the rest of Britain were not merged.
Today Mr Prescott will tell the MPs he cannot accept any amendment to stop the French or Germans taking shares in the new Nats company. A source close to Mr Prescott said: "We are part of Europe. You cannot stop them buying shares in British companies."
Mr Prescott will also reject claims by some of the rebels that he has been forced to sell a stake in Nats by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to raise money for his election "war chest". The source said: "If John did not believe this was the right thing to do, he would not have supported it through thick and thin."
Calls for the Chancellor to use the £22bn windfall from the sale of mobile-phone licences will be rejected by the Government.
Downing Street said the Chancellor was sticking to his plan to use the money for national debt repayment.
The worry for the Government is that the rebels are not the "usual suspects" but include Gavin Strang, former transport minister, and Gwyneth Dunwoody, chairman of the cross-party Commons select committee on transport.
Claims that there could be 80 rebels ready to vote against the Government are regarded by critics and ministers as wide of the mark. The Governmentbelieves that there could be 50 who abstain or vote against,leaving Mr Prescott bruised but undefeated.
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