"And if it violates a treaty or other law,

so what?"

The committee asked Mr Hoon whether it was proper for the Government to support a measure, despite reservations about its lawfulness.

In what the committee's top adviser, Sir Edward Osmotherly, described as a "surprisingly frank" letter, Mr Hoon revealed that the Government did not let doubts about a legal basis stand in the way of a proposal if it was expedient on other grounds to back the measure.

However, Mr Hoon was silent about whether there was any hard evidence that trade-offs were effective.

In other words, "Shut up about laws and treaties you bloody peasant, your betters are taking care of things!"