The cabinet's soother-in-chief, Lord Charlie Falconer has had his diplomatic skills tested to their full recently. A serious bout of antisocial behaviour between his former flatmate and current boss, Tony Blair, and the most senior member of the judiciary was fouling up Lord Falconer's remit.
He is the minister in charge of reforming the criminal justice system and the minister who gains nothing by bashing the judges. Hence his warm words in front of the select committee today when he said his role was to make sure "that at no stage does the executive, by what it says publicly, put pressure or undue pressure on the judges".
That's as close as someone in government will ever admit that Tony Blair went way over the top recently when he claimed summary justice was needed in antisocial behaviour cases because judges were letting yobs off too easily.
Add to that the home secretary's almost weekly complaint that the judges are blocking his attempts to crack down, lock up or deport terrorist suspects and it was obvious that the government's relations with m'learned friends were poisonous.
The feeling seemed to be mutual when the new lord chief justice, Lord Phillips hit back, saying: "Occasionally one feels that an individual politician is trying to browbeat the judiciary, and that is wholly inappropriate."
So who better to come along saying "row? what row?" than Charlie Falconer. His brazen denial amazed onlookers this morning. "One should be careful not to create differences where there in fact are no differences," he said. "The idea that there is a row between the judges and the executive about that [anti-social behaviour] is wrong."
Of course not m'lud.
