Tories bring Aitken back into the fold

BRITAIN: The Labour Party in Britain last night accused the Tories of returning to their "disgraced, scandal-ridden past" after it emerged that Conservative former cabinet minister and former prisoner Jonathan Aitken is being rehabilitated.

Mr Aitken will head a study on prison reform for the Centre for Social Justice, which advises David Cameron on social issues.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith,who runs the think- tank, will formally announce the appointment tomorrow. It will be regarded a remarkable comeback for someone jailed for 18 months in 1999 for "calculated perjury" during a libel action.

Mr Aitken's bid to return as MP was blocked by then party leader Michael Howard in 2004. Anyone jailed for more than a year cannot legally be an MP.

© 2007 PA

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times