Starting with the Observer whose top story concerns the comments of an unnamed aid to the PM who
In a remarkable admission from the heart of Number 10, the aide said the result was a 'blight' not just on Labour and the Prime Minister, but on the whole of democracy.
Its leader says
Let Tony Blair get on with his job
Mr Blair's departure date is roughly known. It may not come soon enough for some, too soon for others. But that is a matter of partisan opinion, not moral imperative. John Yates has been given ample freedom to do his job as a policeman. As long as there is no evidence of wrongdoing, Mr Blair should be allowed the same freedom to get on with his job as elected Prime Minister.
Andrew Rawnsley writes of one of the consequences if he goes
Finally, another attempt at the end of the peer show
Observing the final days of Tony Blair is like watching a man fall from an extremely high building in very slow motion. As he tumbles towards the end, the life of his premiership is surely flashing before his eyes.
Regrets, he must have a few. One of the biggest ought to be that he never did a proper job of constitutional reform. His 10 years would look more complete in the view of history had he done so. The final chapter of his premiership would not be poisoned by a police corruption inquiry if only he had fully cleansed party funding and modernised the House of Lords.
To the Telegraph which in its news review describes
A nightmare on Downing Street
Just a day after returning from the ski slopes of Davos, the venue for the World Economic Forum, the Prime Minister told his aides that although they had endured stormy weather, particularly over the police investigation into the cash-for-honours affair, he was feeling on good form and determined to fill the last months of his premiership with securing his personal and political legacy and paving the way for sweeping reforms of Britain's public services that would long outlive his tenure of office.
What the assembled staff did not know, however, was that only three days earlier, just before setting off for Davos, Mr Blair had endured a second interview with the Metropolitan Police team headed by John Yates, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
The Prime Minister, many pundits predicted, was now a worse-than-even-money bet to cling on until his preferred exit date of late June/early July. Cabinet ministers, including the once ultra-loyal party chairman, Hazel Blears, began suggesting that his authority was ebbing away. Over the dispatch box in the Commons on Wednesday, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, openly called on Mr Blair to resign.
For the first time since Mr Blair became Labour leader, in July 1994, there were clear signs that, not only was his authority over his ministerial colleagues draining away, but also that his Cabinet was taking an almost collective decision to carry on governing without him.
The Paper's leader leaves us in no doubt that the PM should go
It is difficult to understand what Mr Blair thinks he is gaining by remaining as Prime Minister. He says he has "certain things" he wants to finish, but has failed to specify what they are, or how he can complete them effectively. The country as a whole loses while he stays. It is a cliche that all political lives end in failure. That Mr Blair's political terminus should be so uniquely abject is nevertheless entirely his own fault. His gift to Britain should be to vacate the office of Prime Minister as soon as possible.
And its columnists are no less forgiving,Niall Ferguson certain that Labour has degraded politics
For a time, it seemed as if the finale of Mr Blair's premiership would be a reprise of Anthony Eden's, with the Iraq Fiasco taking the place of the Suez Crisis. Now it appears more likely that the Prime Minister will be following in the footsteps of David Lloyd George, who left 10 Downing Street in 1922 under the murky cloud of suspected corruption.
Whilst Mathew D'ancona tells us
Tony Blair has already resigned. He just hasn't realised it yet
Tony Blair became Prime Minister on May 2, 1997 and resigned on September 7, 2006. Be in no doubt: that was the day on which his premiership ended. During a visit to Quinton Kynaston School in north London, he announced, after a failed but hugely damaging backbench coup, that the forthcoming Labour Party conference would be his last as leader, and, at that moment, power drained from him instantly and irretrievably.
The Independent reports on the story that
Ten files of evidence from Scotland Yard detectives investigating cash for honours have been submitted to prosecutors in a sign that the affair is now nearing its conclusion.
The Independent on Sunday can reveal that the Crown Prosecution Service has been helping the police devise questions to ask witnesses being questioned on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. The latest "submission" was made on the day of Tony Blair's recent interview by police, which is believed to have been taped by Scotland Yard.
And in a feature it headlines
What a way to go: Panic at No 10, paranoia at the Yard
And its leading article says
It was never meant to end like this. Tony Blair's dream, expressed in a staffer's cringe-making memo last year, of leaving office with applause ringing in his ears and "the crowds wanting more", vanished four years ago in the sands of Iraq. Yet the vindictive fantasy of some opponents of that war, of making him pay for that error of judgement, also disappeared when the British people delivered their verdict in the election of 2005. Constitutionally, whatever one thinks of our out-dated electoral system, Mr Blair was entitled to serve as Prime Minister until 2010. But such were the pressures on him within his own party that he was forced, last September, to put a 12-month limit on his time.
The Times features a story alleging
SCOTLAND YARD detectives who are investigating the cash for honours scandal have uncovered a private meeting held last summer at which key Downing Street aides allegedly plotted a cover-up.
The meeting was attended by four of Tony Blair’s closest aides, including Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, Lord Levy, Labour’s chief fundraiser, and Ruth Turner, a senior adviser.
It is understood that Levy was questioned about a note of the meeting, said to have been held at Downing Street, when he was arrested last week for allegedly conspiring to pervert the course of justice. One source described the note as setting out an “action plan” for dealing with the police inquiry.
And in a news piece it says
The madness of King Tony
Shortly before he came to power, Tony Blair had a kick about with the footballer Kevin Keegan and managed 27 “keepy-uppy” headers. But those glory days were markedly absent when Blair met footballers and children outside No 10 last week. He barely touched the ball.
The symbolism was all too clear. As Blair attempts to carry on as normal while beset by problems, even some of his own allies believe that he is fooling himself.
Simon Jenkins writes that
Blair wants history to judge him, but the police are first in line
Last week Blair lost the one thing no leader should ever lose: the initiative. The highest office in the land is at the mercy of a policeman.
So the heavies ,Observer excluded are in no doubt that the scandal is one too many for Blair and with his authority rapidly waning,now is the time to go
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