Well, really!

"No Offence Intended"

Asked about the Hutton Report auction at PMQs, Blair said that he believed "no offence was intended." Well, really! I should hope not. He's hardly likely to say: "Actually we set out to offend the Kelly family, and others, and we seem to have succeeded".

In a point of order, Ed Vaizey [Dr Kelly's MP] said: "When the prime minister said no offence was intended to be caused by the sale of that document, I can assure him that it was caused."

How Low Can They Go?

The Beeb and the Guardian report that a Labour Party fund raising event last Wednesday auctioned a copy of the Hutton Report into the tragic death of government scientist Dr David Kelly. The story originally surfaced in the Mail on Sunday at the weekend.

The 'attraction' of this particular lot was that it had been signed – for reasons unknown – by Cherie Blair, as well as by spinmaster Alistair Campbell. Note that Cherie signed it as the wife of the Prime Minister, not under her professional name of Cherie Booth.

To treat such a serious document as a trophy or curiosity – especially when many people considered it a Government whitewash – is in outrageously bad taste, though typical for this government which looks with scorn on anyone outside itself. And what did Mrs. Blair have to do with the report anyway?

Conservative MP Stewart Jackson has proposed an Early Day Motion [EDM 2224] criticising the auction, which we hope will be well supported.

Police Probe Prezza

The Sunday Times reports that a formal complaint has been made to the Met about the Fat Controller bonking in the office. "The complaint has been lodged by Alistair Watson, a retired Glasgow police officer, who... refers to the case of a former constable in Greater Manchester convicted of four counts of misconduct in public office in February... He was sentenced to 200 hours community service."

"The Met said this weekend it would examine Watson’s complaint before deciding whether to launch an investigation."

source

The Morning After

The papers seem agreed it was a hatchet job by Tony. The broadsheets go with variations on the horror theme: "Blair turns butcher after poll carnage" is The Times headline. The Telegraph runs with "Nightmare on Downing Street".

The Indy predicts TB's imminent demise with "THE LAST STAND: Blair's savage reshuffle", and follows it up with a long explanatory subhead: "After a bad night at the polls, Tony Blair ripped his cabinet apart, sacking Charles Clarke, humiliating John Prescott, demoting Jack Straw – and ignoring Gordon Brown". Inside is a piece by Andrew Grice headed "An act of brutality from a prime minister on the run".

But it's the red-tops that sum up the anger many people – voters and Labour supporters alike – feel about the Fat Controller keeping the perks and losing the job. The Sun puts it best: "NOW WE'RE ALL BEING SCREWED" it screams. Inside it picks up the horror story with "Morning cereal killer Blair" [ho ho], and "It's Butcher Blair". The Express has a more hesitant "No wonder he's so smug", while The Mirror spells it out with "NO JOBS! Prezza is abolished, but gets to keep his homes, his car and his £134,000 wage".

One has to remember that this is the man who will be called on to run the country if TB is indisposed, yet he's not considered good enough to run a department.

Two Slips Brown

Noticed a slight Freudian slip by Gordon this afternoon. Or perhaps it wasn't an accident. BBC News 24 (and perhaps ITV channels – I wasn't watching) showed a clip from an interview with the Chancellor to be broadcast on GMTV tomorrow morning. Commenting on Labour's local election disaster, he says: "What I've got to do now... er, what the party's got to do is to...". Does he think he's leader despite Tony's pretty obvious reshuffle snub? Or have they been talking (and spinning) after all?

And several papers, including The Times, report that GB put a terrorist trial at risk when he disclosed details of the case in a radio interview yesterday. He named the case involving a terrorist suspect who was not deported from Britain after serving a previous spell in jail. Mark Stephens, a human rights solicitor, said: “The trial may have to be aborted."

Tony's Musical Chairs

So the Fat Controller has been relieved of his duties at the ODPM, though he still retains the post of Deputy PM and keeps the fat salary and the grace and favour houses. Kate Hoey (Lab), a former sports minister, said she was "surprised" and "disappointed" that Mr Prescott was still in the Cabinet. "I think people will want to ask what on Earth he's going to get paid for, what's he going to actually do," she told BBC Radio 4's The World at One. [source] Indeed we do.

This looks like a wrist slap for having the affair with his secretary and upsetting people's sensitivities just before the local elections, but there may be something more calculating in the shuffle than that, knowing Blair.

Some rebranding will be needed at the ODPM now that it's no longer the preserve of the DPM. Ruth Kelly will take over his local government patch. Kelly speaks slowly and deliberately, as if she thinks everyone she is addressing is an idiot. This will be, I think, her 6th government job since becoming an MP in 1997. Will she maintain Prezza's enthusiasm for concreting the south east and demolishing servicable houses in the north?

Charles Clarke is sacked for the cock-up over the non-deported foreign crims, a cynical move by Blair – from Clarke's point of view – after Blair patted him on the shoulder in the Commons the other day and several times expressed his 'total confidence'. Clarke is not happy.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, nicely summed up his potential legacy: "Mr Clarke may feel harshly judged today but for his anti free speech and ID card laws and for instituting punishment without trial, our children may judge him even more harshly tomorrow." [source]

John Reid takes over as Home Sec. I don't like Reid. In interviews, at least, he comes over as dour and dogmatic and arrogant. Interesting comment on Blairwatch recently about Reid's former friendship with indicted war-criminal Radovan Karadzic. [source] Where do we go with UK ID cards now?

Straw (a previous Home Sec) is demoted from Foreign Sec to Leader of the Commons, after being at the FO since 2001. I wonder why. Was it that chummy weekend in Blackburn with Condi? His place is taken by Margaret Beckett, who likes caravans and flying at the taxpayers' expense.

Almost every other cabinet post has also changed. Except for the top one, where change is long overdue.