Liberal Senator George Brandis has warned former Howard government ministers to butt out and allow others within the
party to have their say.

Senator Brandis has leapt to the defence of his colleague Russell Trood, who has caused a stir after criticising the Iraq
war and other aspects of the previous government's record.

Senator Trood wrote a paper for the Lowy Insititute, callling the Iraq war "an ill-conceived enterprise from the very
beginning" and saying the former government's policy on climate change was "to say the least, uneven".

Senator Trood's comments sparked an angry phone call from former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer last night.

But Senator Brandis has come to his support says former ministers should back off.

"People who served in the previous government, who have indicated their intention to leave the Parliament, one might think
perhaps they've had their time," he said.

"It's not their role now to try and constrain, or stifle new voices who want to reassess the Liberal Party's future."

Source: ABC News