Howells 'kills' Sharon

2007-03-14 23:12

London - Britain's Middle East minister was left red-faced on Wednesday after referring to former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon as dead - and then explaining himself by saying it was "an easy mistake to make".

Speaking about the progress Sharon had made in the Middle East before he had a stroke, sending him into a prolonged coma, Kim Howells said: "If prime minister Sharon had lived... he is dead isn't he?"

When told by members of the house of commons' foreign affairs committee that Sharon was incapacitated, but not dead, the junior foreign minister added: "It's an easy mistake to make, and I just made it."

Sharon, 78, had a massive stroke on January 4 2006 - only months after pulling Israeli troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip following a 38-year occupation - and fell into a coma in which he remains.

'Arc of extremism'

Howells also raised eyebrows by apparently questioning Prime Minister Tony Blair's warning about an "arc of extremism" across the Middle East.

Asked by committee members what he thought about the term, he said: "I think it is unhelpful," adding: "I don't think it helps either define the problem or help us come up with solutions."

There is a widespread feeling in London that Blair's grip on government discipline is easing as he prepares to stand down in the next few months, after 10 years in power.

A member of the parliamentary committee said he was pleased that Howells had disagreed with the prime minister's controversial vision, sometimes seen as a variation of US President George W Bush's warning about an "axis of evil".

"Did I disagree with it? Surely not," said the British minister.

- AFP