That’s how Huw Edwards summed up Lord Hutton‘s verdict in a question to Andrew Marr, with the latter assenting. And it’s exact. If, before the event, you’d tried to imagine the outcome Tony Blair wanted, this would have been it, no? You can be sure that, had it gone against Blair by so much as the width of a fingernail, those who want his head would in no time have been stretching this narrowness to reach across the land. But now just watch for the effort of minimization. It began immediately, with the response of Michael Howard in the House following Blair’s impassioned speech of vindication. Formally accepting Hutton’s judgement in a grudging sentence, Howard went straight on to try and reassemble the case of which Blair and his government had been cleared… in that same judgement. It wasn’t merely foolish and ungracious; it was lamentable.
In the same (minimizing) corner of the park, Simon Hoggart has a delightful report (as ever) about yesterday’s vote:
But it was only when Tim Yeo, shadow education secretary, rose to declare “after that utter humiliation… ” that Mr Blair finally cracked. He laughed and cheered and smiled a smile that probably met at the back of his neck.
Had the government lost the vote, it would of course have been a complete humiliation.
Update 5 minutes later: Gavyn Davies, BBC chairman, is to resign.