Hague opens Tory wounds

Hague Attacks Major's "Fudge"

Mr Hague criticised what he describes as the "constantly shifting fudge" of the recent past.

Mr Hague's remarks have been interpreted as an attack on John Major's premiership in the wake of the Conservatives's shattering general election defeat.

One senior Conservative source described Mr Hague's comments as "rather naive", adding "It did show up his lack of experience and must damage his campaign."

Mr Hague said the Conservatives had lost the election because they had failed to communicate with the electorate and their message had become tainted by "sleaze, greed and self-indulgence".

Previously the six candidates for the leadership had carefully avoided any personal recrimination, but Mr Hague's intervention looks set to add a bitter new twist to the contest.

The former Welsh secretary said his comments, in a speech to party activists in London, were not intended to criticise individuals and insisted the Conservative government had changed Britain for the better.

But by releasing the most critical extracts early to the Evening Standard in London, his supporters ensured that they became the central focus of attention.

Mr Hague - a strong opponent of scrapping the pound - described the election result a "humiliating rout" and made clear his unhappiness with the old government's "wait and see" position on a European single currency.

"A fresh start means uniting the party behind a clear position," he said. "One of the lessons of the past few years is that it is easier to unite the party behind a clear position than a constantly shifting fudge."

"We were voted out of office because we lost the faith, the confidence, the goodwill of the electorate. Because we failed to communicate with the people and to show we understood their concerns."

"We were voted out for reasons of sentiment as well as substance. The free and prosperous society that we had championed became tainted with the image of sleaze, greed, self-indulgence and division."