The Constitution After Scott

Government Unwrapped

Adam Tomkins

Clarendon Press

294 pages | 234x156mm

978-0-19-826290-9 | Paperback | 26 February 1998

Price: £45.00

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The author has written numerous articles on the subject of public law, and is an up and coming scholar in this area
This monograph is the only book-length treatment of the Scott Report
The book is the only treatise on the subject which looks at the US aspects of the whole affair

This book provides a thorough and authoritative account of the constitutional implications of the Scott report. It is the only book-length treatment of this pivotal Report. The Scott report was established by John Major in 1992 to look into British government policy during the 1980s with regard to trade (including the arms trade) with Iraq and to establish whether the Government had lied to Parliament about its policy. Scott also investigated a number of high-profile and controversial criminal prosecutions which the government brought against several companies that were accused of illegally exporting "defence equipment" to Iraq. All of these cases failed.

This book does more than merely relate the Scott story. It offers a full analysis of what the report means for the future of constitutional government, and constitutional reform, in Britain. Issues of lying to Parliament and ministerial responsibility; of the regulation and control of the civil service; and of open government and freedom of information are all reappraised in the light of Scott's discoveries. Central questions of secret intelligence and troublesome "public interest immunity certificates" are also considered.

Unusually for a political scandal, Scott was not an exclusively national affair affecting only one country. There was a little-known equivalent to the Scott inquiry in the USA, and the lessons of the US experience are also discussed here - for the first time in Britain.

Readership: Scholars of public law, in particular constitutional law, also those studying politics, will be interested in this book. Additionally, all those working in the political field, from politicians to political journalists and other commentators will find this book invaluable.

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.

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Government Unwrapped

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