The Spectator’s Notes | 11 September 2010

Although there is a lot more to be said for Tony Blair’s memoirs than you have so far read, I do recommend his account of the hunting ban (p. 304-6) as an epitome of his defects.

Although there is a lot more to be said for Tony Blair’s memoirs than you have so far read, I do recommend his account of the hunting ban (p. 304-6) as an epitome of his defects. First, he confesses to ignorance of the issue. No disgrace in that, but you would have thought that if you were spending 700 parliamentary hours on a subject, you might find out. He still knows very little, as his references to ‘trumpets’ (he means horns) and to ‘the mistress of a hunt’ (he means Master — the mistress of a hunt would be something else again) reveal. Second, he evades describing what actually happened with a would-be charming vagueness.