All this rumpus (quite rightly I might add) about the UK->US->? extradition treaty puts me in mind of something an American acquaintance said way back when cartoonists favourite image of our Tone was as Dubbya's pussy, oops, puppy, no, try again....poodle, that was it - remember all that?

I don't remember whether he was in favour of the Iraq war or not (I suspect so - he was of the US libertarian right persuasion) but when he saw George and Tony doing their "shoulder to shoulder" tango he thought that Tony had rescued George. The "coalition of the willing" was, for a while it seemed, a partnership of two. And he felt Britain should deserve some reward, indeed that the British government should press for some reward.

His suggestion was that Britain should push, in the spirit of free trade/movement in goods and people, that Tony should press for British citizens to be given special status to come and go much more freely to America, to work there without green cards and so on.

I don't suppose he for one minute thought that Tony would do the selection of who would get special free flights and all-expenses paid accommodation personally. I always think that if you are going to lobby someone for something, you should make a positive alternative suggestion to go with it - so, when you do as young Nick here says, perhaps you should suggest more freedom of movement for British folks into and around the US too.