Tory Chief Whip sends letter of apology to adoption 'rebels'

Thirty five Tory MPs who refused to support Iain Duncan Smith's hard line on gay adoption have received an apology from the party leadership for being branded "rebels".

In a rare move, David Maclean, the Tory Chief Whip and one of Mr Duncan Smith's closest allies, has written to the MPs who abstained in Monday's vote on the Adoption and Children Bill to tell them they did nothing wrong.

The aim was to heal the wounds inflicted by the Tory leader's attack on his rebel MPs when he made his "unite or die" plea. Although his target was the eight Tories who voted against the Bill, including Michael Portillo and Kenneth Clarke, many of the Tory abstainers believed he was also accusing them of disloyalty.

Mr Maclean's letter, obtained by The Independent, told the 35 abstainers: "I was sorry to see that some parts of the press listed you and other colleagues as 'rebels' because you had abstained on the Adoption Bill. I know that this is an incorrect description of your position and I and the Opposition Whips' Office are content that you have behaved properly and in the best traditions of the Conservative Party."

The Tory Chief Whip made a clear attempt to head off criticism of the abstainers by their local Tory associations, whom Mr Duncan Smith hopes will put pressure on MPs to toe the party line. He added: "I do not regard your stance as rebellious or disloyal and I hope this helps to set the record straight. Please feel free to use this letter as you see fit."

Mr Duncan Smith receives a boost today from a survey of Tory councillors by The Independent showing he has their overwhelming support to lead the party into the general election. If he stands down, Mr Clarke would be the most preferred successor.

Some MPs welcomed Mr Maclean's letter as a sign that Mr Duncan Smith was trying to build bridges with his MPs. "He has been big enough to say sorry and we should welcome the olive branch," said one frontbencher who abstained in the vote. But some critics saw the apology as a further sign of confusion at the top of the party. One said: "He is all over the place. One minute we are rebels who are undermining him, the next minute he is saying what we did is all right."

Another abstainer said: "This is a remarkable U-turn and an admission that the leadership got it wrong. It's the oldest trick in the book to blame it on the press."

Tory aides denied the letter was a change of strategy, saying the eight MPs who defied the three-line whip by voting for gay adoption had not been sent the letter by the Chief Whip. But they said the leadership wanted to draw a line under recent events and "move on" to policy.

Further reports, page 2; Leading article, page 20; Andrew Grice, page 21