Bush picks right-winger as his law chief

By MARY DEJEVSKY

WASHINGTON - US President-Elect George W Bush moved to placate increasingly restive conservatives yesterday, nominating the former Missouri senator John Ashcroft as attorney general.

Mr Ashcroft lost his Senate seat to the deceased governor, Mel Carnahan, whose name remained on the ballot after he was killed in a plane crash.

A Christian conservative and known opponent of abortion and gun control, Mr Ashcroft can be expected to take the Justice Department sharply to the right of the centre-left position it has occupied for the past eight years under Janet Reno.

His conservatism could prove a liability when he faces confirmation in a Senate that will be evenly balanced between Republicans and Democrats, but his personal popularity is expected to see him through.

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