Airstrip One

Damaged Goods - 19th July 2003, 23.15

Some are calling on Blair to resign. If the most important Labour figure to sanction this is Glenda Jackson, then the indications of a sturm und drang engulfing the PM look very farfetched.

The swift declaration of a judicial inquiry under Lord Hutton was designed to shortcircuit the runaway firestorm of press speculation that could prove so damaging to the government. Blair's appetite for foreign travel may now be curbed given the travails that afflict his government.

The next few days will clarify the immediate damage to the government and indicate whether this political firebreak is serving its purpose.