Cook slams Blair's 'black arts' tactics

Labour came under fresh pressure today over its controversial posters of Michael Howard as Robin Cook warned that "black arts" tactics would switch off voters.

The former foreign secretary and Commons leader said it was time to call a halt to negative and personalised adverts, such as proposed election posters depicting the Tory leader as a flying pig or "Shylock" figure.

Writing in today's Evening Standard, Mr Cook argues against US-style attack adverts. He says: "We adopt the black arts of negative campaigning because politicians, like everyone else, are too much in awe of the latest US practice.

"But negative campaigning works in the US because there are only two serious parties. In Britain the only party that will benefit from a campaign of hand-to-hand mud wrestling between Labour and Tory will be the Liberal Democrats."

Mr Cook's warning came as Tony Blair faced fresh pressure to abandon plans to use two posters that critics have claimed are anti-Semitic. Tory chairman Liam Fox called for the adverts to be withdrawn in the wake of protests from Jewish groups and individuals.

He said criticism had been so strong it was time for Tony Blair to step in and call a halt to the tactics. Although Labour strongly denies the charge, Ned Temko, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, warned that at their worst the posters were "part of a deliberate pattern of frankly anti-Semitic invective".

Mr Temko, whose paper is the voice of Britain's Jewish community, said the posters may have been "an inadvertent mix of insensitivity and cultural illiteracy", but "a less charitable conclusion is that Labour, or some within it, sees election campaign advantages in subliminally reminding voters that Howard is Jewish."

One senior Tory source said Labour could not get away with the defence that it was mere thoughtlessness. Trade Minister Mike O'Brien was reported to the Commission for Racial Equality for telling an Islamic paper Mr Howard could not represent Muslims properly.

Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney caused uproar after accusing Shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin, who is also Jewish, of behaving like a "21st century Fagin". The Tory source said "Once is careless, twice is foolish. But three times times? There is no excuse".

Evening Standard revealed last week how groups including the Association of Jewish Refugees and Liberal Judaism condemned the ads. Labour admits it wants to target Mr Howard personally. But a Labour source said there was " absolutely no intention" to attack him because he is Jewish.