Downing St. and the BBC
The No 10 Press Office made fools of themselves yesterday over refusing to field a Cabinet Minister because Alistair Campbell was on the panel. In the event The BBC went directly to John Redwood. Good choice. He was more than a match.
Meanwhile it is a useful settling in experience for new blood at No 10. The first thing you need to know about the power of the most powerful address in the land is its limitations. Especially since Blair, who devalued its authority with too much spin and a cavalier relationship with the truth behind the truth. Who was his right hand man? I forget.