Jack McConnell's Africa role axed 'to avoid by-election'

Oct 5 2008 By Mark Aitken Political Editor

GORDON BROWN was last night accused of trying to avoid another by-election defeat by axeing Jack McConnell's move to Africa.

Former First Minister McConnell was set to quit as an MSP to become British High Commissioner to Malawi.

But he will now stay on at Holyrood and become a world "peace envoy" for the Prime Minister.

The move would have sparked another by-election which the SNP would be expected to win.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This is blatant political manipulation to avoid defeat in a by-election.

"It is a sign of how out of touch they are that Labour think they can manipulate the process in this way, but sooner or later people are going to say to Labour 'enough is enough'."

The Malawi post will be filled by a career diplomat until McConnell takes it up in 2010.

The Motherwell and Wishaw MSP's unpaid job as peace envoy will be to work with the United Nations and European Union to rebuild countries ravaged by war.

He will also be responsible for drawing up Brown's plan for a "global peace and reconstruction corps".

On a recent trip to the US, Brown described the corps as a body of civilian experts who would be on call to help rebuild countries.

His plan follows criticism that UN peace-keeping forces have been too slow to arrive in areas such as Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo and Darfur and ineffective in the rebuilding process.

McConnell will head a team from the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development, spending at least two days a week in London. He said he was "absolutely delighted" with his new role.

He added: "This is a huge challenge. Having visited Rwanda last year and seen the absolute horror that conflict leaves behind and the scale of the job required to rebuild a country, I will give this position all the energy and attention it deserves." McConnell also pledged to continue working on Malawi with Sir Tom Hunter and added: "I will be continuing as MSP."

John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, raised concerns about the dual role.

He said: "Is this the Labour Party desperately avoiding a by-election? And from Labour's point of view, will he be there for crucial votes in a minority government parliament?

"He has already been missing from high-profile votes."