Final air sell-off showdown

The bill will go back before Peers on Wednesday

The government is facing a final House of Lords showdown over its plans to privatise the National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats).

The proposals go before peers for a third time on Wednesday.

They return to the upper House having already been rejected a second time earlier this week when peers voted to delay the sell-off until after the next election.

Speaking ahead of the confrontation Downing Street insisted the government would push ahead with its plans.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "We recognise the proposals are unpopular in some quarters, but we believe it's the right thing to do."

Compromise

The government has offered a compromise by delaying the sale for three months, and has raised the stakes by saying it could be in danger of losing the whole of its Transport Bill.

The Bill includes far-reaching reforms of the rail network, with the establishment of a Strategic Rail Authority, as well as powers over congestion charging.

Former transport minister Gavin Strang, one of the Labour MPs who rebelled against the plan in the Commons earlier this week, said it would be a "huge mistake" for the government to put the entire Bill in jeopardy.

If ministers concede on delaying Nats until after the election the move would end opposition to the Transport Bill.

The electorate do not want this

Gwyneth Dunwoody

Labour's Gwyneth Dunwoody, chairman of the Commons transport select committee, has warned the government it was only "made up of ordinary people who make mistakes".

"The partial privatisation of Nats is a mistake," she said.

"This is a core service for aviation. It is not something that can easily make a profit. Putting more and more planes into the sky is not an option.

"Those who seek to buy its assets know that, all of them, have a particular vested interest."

Mrs Dunwoody said air traffic controllers had spoken for themselves and for the electorate.

'Threats'

She argued that the government should put the issue in its manifesto if it thought it should be considered further.

Liberal Democrat Michael Moore denounced the three-month compromise as "spin and nothing more than that".

He accused the government of resorting to "threats" and added that the public distrusted the government on the issue.

"The public sector could certainly find the funds and we believe it could underwrite this particular project," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had made a late appeal for rebel peers to drop their opposition to the plan.

He warned it would be "constitutionally unacceptable" to bow to the will of the second chamber.

"We remain convinced that PPP [public-private partnership[ is the right solution for Nats. Delay would be damaging to Nats, airlines and passengers," he said.

But the Liberal Democrat's transport spokeswoman in the Lords, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood, pledged to continue opposition to the move.

She said: "We are continuing our fight. We feel it is worth going to the wire to make the point that the government has made a mistake."

The government wants to sell off 51% of Nats to one of three bidders in the spring of 2001.

Parliament Act

The government's eagerness to drive the sell-off through Parliament before the current session ends later this week has attracted criticism.

Opposition MPs have accused ministers of choosing to either limit or guillotine debate or use the Parliament Act to ensure bills become law when faced with the prospect of seeing them fall by the wayside.

Meanwhile MPs have complained that ministers have limited debate in the Commons on a number of key bills, including the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill.