The Conservatives last night accused the government of creating "damaging confusion in the midst of international crisis" after Nick Brown, the deputy chief whip, appeared to contradict the foreign secretary, David Miliband, over Georgia's future membership of Nato.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, demanded an explanation from Gordon Brown - who was on his way to Beijing - after Nick Brown wrote a blog for the Guardian's Comment is Free section, saying he did not back Georgia's membership of Nato and "doesn't know anyone who does". The comments came as Miliband visited Georgia and backed its membership of Nato, as agreed at a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
Hague said: "This damaging confusion in the midst of an international crisis - with one minister saying one thing and another saying the opposite - must be immediately cleared up." He demanded that the prime minister make clear that Nick Brown was not speaking for the government, and indicate his support for Georgia's Nato membership. Nick Brown said: "What I disagree with is the dangerous behaviour of David Cameron in Tbilisi, when he said Georgia should immediately join Nato to punish the Russians."
