You wanted to see more open government, a government that wouldn't be afraid to say we messed up, here's how we will fix it. But now Blair plans to go for the American political doctrine of deny everything that might look bad for London based government, even if it means bare faced lying to the sheep like electorate who put us in power.

17 of the most senior 'information officers' across Whitehall are being sidelined by Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's spokesman. Campbell will form a 'Prime ministers department' to rebutt unfavourable stories about government policy or actions.

When this is tied in with Blairs attempts to limit privacy and free speech, it is not only frightening to anyone with a sense of democracy its a waste of taxpayers cash!