Shafted - Both Charles Clarke, and the rest of us!

"The prime minister, as is his right and responsibility, has made the judgment that my continued occupation of the post of home secretary is likely to stand in the way of the continued reforms which remain necessary."

"And though I do not agree with that judgment, I entirely accept his right to make it."

...But it all comes back to Reid. The gleaming, spitting spider at the centre of the web. This government’s tell-tale heart. John has the upper hand now. A shield to Blair, a rival to Brown. Straw, Blunkett, Clarke - how we hoped against hope that we were weathering the storm. Only now, as it grows dark, do we realise that they were just passing squalls.

With a terrifying ferocity, it has finally started to rain.