Gordon Brown's Sudden Interest in National Security

I hear that Gordon Brown will be giving a lecture next Monday at the Royal United Services Institute on "Issues of National Security & Responses to Them". Hmmm. This wouldn't be part of the Alastair Campbell inspired campaign to make him look Prime Ministerial, would it? After all, the Dour One has shown scant little interest in such issues in the past. The very idea of him speaking on thiese issues should provoke a few groans in the Armed Forces bearing in mind his record on funding them. A few rotten eggs to the fore, methinks.

UPDATE 7pm Spread betting experts Bethilo today predicted Chancellor Gordon Brown would beat the Prime Minister in the "Ovation Stakes'' at this weekend's Labour spring conference in Blackpool. They forecast Mr Brown's speech would receive a four-and-a-halfminute ovation, while Tony Blair's ovation would be only four minutes. "The Prime Minister will be clapped out,'' a spokesman for Bethilo said. Quite.