This could not have been a better bit of publicity for Tony Blair, but surely even he could not have staged this, could he? Forty-two year old Jean Peterson gave the PM a hug and a kiss on the lips when he visited her community centre in Wythenshawe, near Manchester. The crowd all cheered and sang "Jean and Tony in a tree, K.I.Double-S.I.N.G!". Meanwhile, Prescott was seen puckering up, ready, but didn't get even get a sniff. Mind you, it wasn't that bad a result for John in the scheme of things, as he normally ends up having a fist fight when he goes on a walkabout.
"He's got lips like a baby", Miss Peterson told reporters. However, she did also say that there was a funny twang that she couldn't quite identify. "It's weird, but it's what I would imagine a President of the United States's arse would taste like", she added.
Was it all staged though? One doesn't wish to appear cynical, but a black, single mother comes up to Tony Blair to kiss him and hug him. Blair's spin machine could not have come up with a more PC bit of publicity to help his battered image. More importantly though, the question is how Michael Howard can go one better and outdo this latest bit of Blair publicity. My suggestion is that he could stage a photograph in which he is seen sharing a post-coital cigarette with Big Brother's winning trans-gender headcase, Nadia.