 | 'Since taking office he (Mr Blair) has already borrowed a famous picture of Sir Walter Scott which used to adorn Lady Caroline's bedroom and which now hangs in No 10.' Tanya Thompson in the Scotsman, 6 th July 1998. |  |
| 'Since taking office he (Mr Blair) has already borrowed a famous picture of Sir Walter Scott which used to adorn Lady Caroline's bedroom and which now hangs in No 10.' Tanya Thompson in the Scotsman, 6 th July 1998. | |
IT WAS once the home of the socialite Lady Caroline Lamb who seduced her lover, Lord Byron, amid its neo-classical splendour.
Today controversy surrounds the future of Whitehall's most desirable abode, Dover House, which for more 100 years has been the base of Scotland's civil servants in London.
With the opening of the Scottish parliament next year, the future of the building remains in doubt as hundreds of bureaucrats leave for Edinburgh. Yesterday, however, Downing Street was dismissing reports that the Prime Minister was set to move into Donald Dewar's magnificent London residence.
While the Scottish Office holds a lease on the house well into the next century, a spokesman admitted he was unsure where its future lay. He said: "Scotland will need a presence in Whitehall. The Scottish parliament will need an office to act as a liaison with the English parliament, but the decision on what happens to it is yet to be made."
With the Scottish Office civil servants preparing to move north, there are fears that the building will lie empty with just an occasional visit from Scotland's First Minister.
A Scottish Conservative Party spokesman said: "While this would be a matter for the Government of the day, we do appreciate the importance of Scottish ministers at Holyrood liaising with the Westminster parliament, but whether Dover House is the best and most prudent way remains to be seen. We will have to examine all the options."
Speaking of the 18th century house, Mike Russell, the chief executive of the SNP, said: "If it is not needed it should be passed on. If you see some of the ideas we have for Scottish trade and Scottish culture I could see it as being a great showcase."
Alternatively, a move for the Blairs to Dover House would make sense. It would give them the space and freedom to bring up their three children away from the confines and stresses of Downing Street.
It is seen as an architectural masterpiece with its grand pillars, elegantly domed roof and exquisite circular staircase and rivals anything the Prime Minister's counterparts have to hand at the White House or the Elysée Palace.
According to some reports, the Blairs, who moved from 10 Downing Street to the more spacious apartments above number 11, are keen on the move.
Dover House would give the Prime Minister's wife and his young children room to breathe. It is more like a family home than the cramped quarters at London's most famous address. The building is near Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, which would allow Mr Blair to stroll to work every morning.
He is already familiar with the many charms of Dover House. Since taking office he has already borrowed a famous picture of Sir Walter Scott which used to adorn Lady Caroline's bedroom and which now hangs in No 10.
Friends say the Prime Minister wants to be able to break free from the stifling atmosphere of Downing Street and Dover House could, after renovation, provide the perfect family abode.
The Blairs have always stressed the importance of family privacy, keeping Euan, 14, Nick, 12 and Kathryn, ten, out of the limelight.
Even the weekends at the Prime Minister's country residence, Chequers, do not provide them with the freedom they enjoyed before Labour's general election victory.
If Mr Blair does opt for a change of scenery, he will not be the first premier to reject the atmosphere of life in No 10.
Harold Wilson chose to live in nearby Lord North Street when he was Prime Minister during the Sixties and Seventies. John Major kept on the Huntingdonshire home where his wife, Norma, and two children enjoyed most of their free time.
Similarly, Margaret Thatcher's children, Carol and Mark, both preferred to live elsewhere. Mrs Thatcher was also said to be an admirer of Dover House. She cast an envious eye over the building and was apparently furious that her ministers were working in such luxury.
But, in its present state, Dover House would by no means provide the ideal home for a young family. It has no proper kitchen or a garden and would need a huge amount of refurbishment work.
Originally built as a family home, it was named after Baron Dover, who took it over from Lady Caroline Lamb's long-suffering husband, Lord Melbourne. The house became notorious as the backdrop for the scandal of Lady Caroline's adulterous affair with Lord Byron.
The infamous boudoir, with its views across Horse Guards Parade, is now the office of Henry McLeish, the minister with responsibility for Scottish constitutional affairs and devolution.
Unfortunately, ministers can also not help coveting the building itself. Throughout Whitehall, the gossip is not so much whether the Scottish office will lose Dover House - but who will win it. The Blairs have already had to deny they plan to make it their family home; now it appears the newly powerful Cabinet Office is to take it over.
The arguments are simple: with Scotland gaining its own parliament, First Minister and elected assembly, how can it justify keeping the most prized building in Whitehall? Moreover, the Cabinet Office is next door: the extension into Dover House would guarantee Blair's 'corporate headquarters' was kept on a single site. And its beauty and style would reflect the importance of the new 'super-minister' at its head.
Such a move would be a shame, a blow even, for the Union. Few Scots have seen inside the magnificent building but with its office f aircraft hanger proportions for the Secretary of State, historic portraits on the walls and short walk to Downing Street it is the apothesis of Scotland within the Union.
A Scottish Office move to a drab, edge-of-Whitehall tower block would reinforce the impression that Blair sees Scotland as peripheral to his government. The Scottish Secretary would risk being seen as marginalised and powerless. Losing Dover House would also be a gift to nationalism: so if Blair is serious about saving the Union, he will - like a latter-day Lady Caroline Lamb - have to lie back ... and think of Scotland.
The elegant office in Whitehall will continue to be used by civil servants and Scottish ministers while on business in London. It could be developed as a 'mini embassy' for Scotland, with promotion agencies like Locate in Scotland using its facilities.
In recent months, there has been speculation that the building could be taken over by a Whitehall department on the grounds that it could no longer be justified as a London base for the Scottish office of the new Holyrood executive.
For more than a century, the impressive building has been used by Scottish Office ministers and civil servants who commute to London and spend a large part of the week there when Westminster is in session.
However, once the Holyrood parliament is set up, most Scottish business will be dealt with in Edinburgh and the Scottish office will be reduced to a fraction of its present size.
While the office of secretary of state, as a Cabinet minister, is being retained, the majority of civil servants and support staff will be transferred to the employment of the Scottish executive, which will have its own team of ministers.
In spite of suggestions that Dover House was wanted by other Government departments, ministers are understood to have obtained a guarantee that it will be retained for Scotland.
This will be on the grounds that Scotland will continue to need a presence in Whitehall and that the Holyrood parliament will require an office to act as a liaison with the English parliament.
The office will be used for 'hot desking' by civil servants and by ministers of the new parliament when they are in London.
According to ministerial sources, accommodation could become available for other Scottish public agencies like Locate in Scotland, which promotes inward investment.
Speculation that the neo-classical building was about to be seized from Scotland's grasp has been strongly dismissed.
At one stage, it was suggested that Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, was interested in moving to Dover House, which is noted for its elegantly domed roof, its circular staircase and grand pillars.
According to some reports, it would provide more suitable family accommodation than is available in Downing Street.
However, that suggestion was immediately quashed by Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's chief press secretary, when it became the subject of newspaper reports last July.
In a letter to the Scotsman, he said 'A move to Dover House has never been considered by anyone, let alone the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is not moving to Dover House, and he never will.'
There was also speculation recently that other ministers with an eye on Dover House included Peter Mandelson, the former trade secretary who resigned on Wednesday following the row over his failure to declare a £373,000 loan from Geoffrey Robinson, then treasury minister.
When the future of Dover House was raised in the House of Lords at the beginning of November, Lord Sewel, the Scottish Office spokesman in the Lords, said one of the main determinants of accommodation needs following devolution would be the view the Scottish executive takes about its requirements in London, in liaising with UK ministers.
He said 'That can clearly be decided only after we have a Scottish parliament and a Scottish executive in place. To a large extent it will be up to them to determine their accommodation needs.'
Dover House in future could become a similar office to that planned by the Scottish Office for Brussels.
As the Scotsman disclosed earlier this month, Scotland House will become the Brussels headquarters of the new Scottish executive.
It will share the new accommodation with Scottish Europa, a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise which also houses a wide range of representative bodies like the Convention of Scottish local Authorities.
Scotland Europa, established four years ago, has its own office, but it will move in with officials of the Scottish executive under plans due to be announced in the new year.
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