The Conservatives have told the Government to go back to the drawing board after ministers were forced into a ‘humiliating’ climbdown over their controversial Home Information Packs plan.

Shadow Housing Minister Michael Gove demanded a radical re-think after the High Court effectively ruled that HIPs cannot be compulsorily introduced as planned on June 1.

Mr Gove stated: “Ministers should now come clean, and take Home Information Packs back to the drawing board. It would seem that the only thing Labour Ministers care about is how to minimise their embarrassment over yet another u-turn, whilst tackling climate change and helping first time buyers have been relegated to after-thoughts.”

The Government had planned for HIPs to be compulsory for anyone selling their home from June 1. However, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has been forced into postponing their introduction following a legal challenge mounted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) over a lack of proper consultation. Given the legal hearing could not be heard properly before the implementation date of 1 June, Home Information Packs in their current form should not go ahead, she said.

Later Mr Gove told MPs: “Isn’t it the case that this is a desperate last minute retreat designed to ensure that the Minister of Housing and Planning is airlifted out of the department by her friends in the Treasury in a future reshuffle so she doesn’t have to cope with the chaos she’s created.

“And is it not tragic that confidence in the industry, the stability of the housing market, and the battle against climate change have all been damaged by this Government’s arrogance and incompetence?”