Cabinet ministers attacked by judges

Two cabinet ministers were strongly criticised by judges yesterday. The Home Secretary, Michael Howard, was accused of an unlawful abuse of power while the Transport Secretary, Brian Mawhinney, was attacked for "devious" planning.

The Law Lords said that Mr Howard had flouted the will of Parliament by attempting to introduce a cost-cutting compensation scheme for crime victims instead of the far more generous one actually approved.

Lord Browne-Wilkinson said the decision to introduce the scheme without going back to Parliament for approval was "unlawful and an abuse of power". He said that to accept the Home Secretary's claim that the passing of an Act merely conferred on him a power to decide whether or not to make the provisions part of the law was "not only constitutionally dangerous but flies in the face of common sense". Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead said that by setting up the alternative tariff system the Home Secretary had "disabled himself from discharging his duty in the way Parliament intended".

Dr Mawhinney came under attack from a High Court judge who said that a consultation paper containing proposals to curb noisy, controversial night flights at major airports was "devious and deeply unattractive".

The London Borough of Richmond, backed by five other local authorities, asked the judge for permission to seek judicial review of the "misleading" consultation paper.

Mr Justice Sedley ruled that the challenge was inappropriate while consultations were still proceeding, but added: "If this court were a court of merits I would have no hesitation in granting leave to challenge this farrago of equivocation."

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