30th July:

Much has been made in the UK media about our new Prime Minister's attitude to Anglo-American relations. A series of apparently inference-laden statements by senior Government ministers seemed to suggest that the UK will no longer blindly accept America's position on any and every political issue as being true, correct and above reproach or inquiry. All good stuff as far as the domestic audience is concerned, you may think. Even America's ex-UN Ambassador John Bolton seemed a bit miffed. You almost saw his moustache twitch on TV. Which was wonderful.

However, in a masterful coup, Gordon Brown today sought to downplay these comments and provide a definitive position on the subject. He commented that he values the UK/US relationship immensely and can only see it getting stronger over the next few years.

Do you see what he did there? Do you?