Blair has survived the Clarke attack. Who’s next? My money is on Hain

After seven weeks of plotting, Charles Clarke could at least have delivered his punchline correctly. He declared to the BBC that as home secretary he had been ‘tough but populist, I beg your pardon, tough but not populist’. He attacked Tony Blair for losing ‘purpose and direction’ but said the Prime Minister should nonetheless stay until 2008. Each of his four interviews was primed to detonate on the same day, and each somehow seemed to misfire. Yet, for all its sloppiness, the Clarke attack has had a profound impact on No. 10.

‘The Prime Minister is running a mile’ announced his official spokesman — he referred to a charity jog but it was true more generally. No. 10 had little desire to retaliate fiercely and its only response was to describe Mr Clarke as ‘disappointed’, a word glowing with understatement. Mr Blair spoke implausibly of his ‘very great regard’ for his old colleague.