"Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are, " he told reporters.

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They are the kind of rules that once kept a bricklayer from rowing at Henley and are ultimately made to be broken.

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The opposition leaders solemnly pledged on election night to co-operate with the prime minister, but such promises are made to be broken.

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Contracts were not made to be broken, even in Hollywood studios and New York news departments, despite the assumption that they are routinely torn up.

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And yet, they point out, protocols were made to be broken.

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The decision was made to maintain secrecy so other codes could continue to be broken using the technology and techniques.

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In 1940, when the Soviet Union was discussing the details of a peace pact made in 1939 with Germany (to be broken when Germany invaded in 1941), its Berlin embassy was short of linguists.

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What I loved most about the CRP was seeing the faces of kindergarten children when I told them the impact they made when they donated their old and broken crayons to be recycled.

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Whilst many will argue with many aspects of the Thatcher legacy - and some will, no doubt, protest about it today - that is an analysis which few will contest - though, of course, any consensus can be broken and re-made just as privatisation did to the previously widespread belief in the value of nationalisation.

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