The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, was last night forced to postpone a compromise bill to ban smoking in various public places, after a chaotic and increasingly fraught split within the cabinet.
After a day of conflicting briefings, she had to accept that agreement within the cabinet's domestic affairs committee was impossible. Her compromise would have banned smoking in all workplaces, restaurants, and pubs that serve food. Other pubs could allow smoking, but only in sealed rooms; and smoking would be allowed in private member's clubs.
Hopes of securing the deal were raised when the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, previously a vocal supporter of an outright ban, gave her backing. But claims from within the cabinet that the Jowell-Hewitt agreement guaranteed the proposal could be announced today prompted swift and firm denials from other cabinet members, forcing the Department of Health to admit that no deal had been reached.
Ms Hewitt's predecessor, John Reid, now defence secretary, has been using his position on the committee to persuade the cabinet to stick to its manifesto commitment to allow smoking in any part of a pub that does not serve or prepare food; he opposes the option of separate sealed smoking rooms. A premier political streetfighter, Mr Reid regarded his proposal, enshrined in the manifesto, as the right compromise, balancing the duty to protect the public from passive smoking with adults' freedom to make an informed choice to risk smoking pleasure.
At Monday's cabinet committee meeting his intervention killed off Ms Hewitt's plan for a ban in private clubs, including working men's clubs and the Royal British Legion. He had the support of Ms Jowell. At one point yesterday the divisions were so difficult to resolve that it was suggested the issue might be classified as a conscience issue and left to a free vote of MPs.
Ms Hewitt now intends to announce that the proposal for sealed smoking rooms be the subject of a three-month consultation, covering issues such as ventilation, oversight, and whether pub staff would have to clean the rooms. She privately hopes the smoking rooms will die out gradually, like smoking on trains.
Left to her own devices, she would probably favour an outright ban, since it is more easy to enforce and reflects public opinion. But the prime minister is opposed to a ban on libertarian grounds.
The shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said it was perverse and unworkable to distinguish between places where food was and was not prepared. Rob Hayward of the Beer and Pub Association said the government was "in a mess". "We are very concerned about the continued exemption for clubs. The majority of consumers will migrate to clubs where they and their friends can smoke."
