Puffing away

Ann Treneman in The Times reveals the mess that the Westminster Government has got into over the smoking ban. Secretary of State Hewitt was before the Health Committee:

"It was like seatbelts in cars: would she really advocate giving fewer seatbelts to cars for poor people? Ms Hewitt paused. “I have some sympathy with your viewpoint.”
It was as close as we will ever get to a cry of anguish from the Health Secretary. If only she could be injected with truth serum (surely not out of the question in Britain today?) then the woman would be shouting in her native Australian drawl: “Strewth! Don’t blame me. It’s that bully John Reid. Tessa and I wanted a total ban but the boys couldn’t give a XXXX!”
Mike Penning is a new Tory who looks unhealthily rotund, which is a bit of a tradition on this committee. He demanded: “Were you rolled over? If you wanted this ban, why haven’t you got it?” Ms Hewitt paused. Was that steam (or smoke) coming out of her ears?
...
Yesterday, Ms Hewitt revealed that crisps were not food but has yet to proclaim on Bombay mix. I could not help but note that she was accompanied yesterday by Sir Nigel Crisp. He is head of the NHS but, more pertinent to this, as a Crisp he will be allowed in smoking pubs. But what if he was named Nut? Or Panini? The world has become a very murky place."