The big difference from Watergate and similar American things is that the system here is better geared to close down the can of worms and clamp it shut.

I would anticipate that when the report comes out it will be written in such a way that everyone important can say that it exonerates them. And it will have neatly avoided exploring any really embarrassing or damaging stuff. There'll be a few relatively low level symbolic early retirements and departures to spend more time with their families. If all else fails there will be some convenient retirements on health grounds.

One thing, Tony Blair will never again be able to deploy his personal honesty as a trump card in a tricky situation - "Trust me, I'm a pretty straight kind of guy". And the irony is, as successful politicians go, he probably is. They always say that politicians in England can be divided into the bookies and the bishops, and he's always been a very much a bishop. Mind, bishops get a pretty low credibility quotient with the public these days.

When it comes to elections the strongest card Labour has, of course, is the Conservative party, who constitute a virtual cast-iron guarantee of a Labour victory at the next election. (And the other strtong card is the spectacle of Bush and his regime across the water.) Of course whether it'll still be Blair at the head is another matter.