Beyond this, the administration seems on the point of accepting that its post-Clinton policy of benevolent disengagement from the Israeli-Palestinian political dispute is no longer adequate to the situation.
After his leg of the relay, during which he will be pushed by his regular helper and close friend Colin Davies, the benefits administration officer is planning to use the torch for fundraising events for the MDSA, the Civil Service Benevolent Fund and his former school Welburn Hall at Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire.