Anthony Barnett (London, OK): Fascinating Newsnight last night on the Damian Green affair. Ken Macdonald, who has just stepped down as the DPP was sharp and impressive. He made it clear that the police had made a hash of it and had to be kept under control and he drew a proper distinction between punishing an MP for accepting leaks - they had already found the leaker, of course - and investigating the high crime of corruption involved in the sale of peerages (which clearly took place even if they could not establish evidence to convict).
Michael Howard was robust and drew on the 17th century to protest against the invasion of Parliament, implicitly comparing the government of Gordon Brown to that of Charles Ist. It was left to the third retired figure, Ken Livingstone, to defend what happened. What a sad and lame performance it was. I've been a longtime supporter of one of the most creative figures in British politics but this was Ken as an old fart defending the police and seeking to assure us that we are not on the verge of a civil war as if this made everything hunky-dory. What role reversals we are seeing!
Martin Bright catches the mood of this in his angry contribution to the Progress conference.
