I think a transcript of that interview would be very useful - especially the bit Shambles paraphrases as: "Tessa Jowell replied to this by saying that she doesn't want to see the situation where six people are sitting around in a pub (with or without a guitar) and start singing together and are stopped because there isn't a licence. "That would be patently ridiculous"...

My feeling here is still that we aren't up against a cleverly worked out plan by politicians to zap us. I think it's a cock up by people who know bugger all about this whole thing. The central focus of the bill is about drink, not about music, and the people who drafted it didn't do their homework.

The whole assumption was surely that this was a routine and non-contentious bit of legislation, where any opposition would come from people who weren't keen on extending drinking hours. A populsar bit of legislation that wold help those involved up the greasy pole. But they hate making concessions and admitting mistakes, because that's the way politicians are wired up.

If they can find a way of getting out of the corner into which they have painted themselves without getting paint in their shoes, I predict they'll take it. And on the basis of that summary of Tessa Jowell's interview, if I were Kim Howells I'd be watching my back.