The Guardian Weekly

December 24, 2004 – January 6, 2005

¨ Explanatory Notes

¹⁾ David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside since 1987. Suffering from blindness since birth, and coming from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts, he rose to become Education Secretary in Tony Blair's first Cabinet following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election. He gave up this position to become Home Secretary following the 2001 general election, a position he held until 2004, when he was forced to resign following the revelation of an affair Blunkett was having while serving as Home Secretary. Following the 2005 general election, he was appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, but was again forced to resign later that year following the release of a series of reports about his external business interests during his brief time outside the cabinet.

²⁾ Whitehall - a road in Westminster in London, England. Recognised as the centre of HM Government, the road is lined with government departments/ministries. " Whitehall" is therefore also frequently used as a metonym for overall UK governmental administration, as well as being a geographic name for the surrounding district.

³⁾ Sir Alan Peter Budd (born 16 November 1937) is a prominent British economist, who was a founding member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 1997 and a chief economic adviser to the Treasury between 1991 and 1997. Sir Alan has appeared more in the public eye, however, in fulfilling various government appointments. He gained an even higher public profile when in 2004 he was asked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issue of a visa to the nanny of Kimberly Quinn, the lover of David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary.

⁴⁾ Westminster - the name describes the area around Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster. It derives from the West Minster, or monastery church, west of the City of London's St Paul's. The area has been the seat of the government of England for almost a thousand years. " Westminster" is thus often used as a metonym for Parliament and the political community of the United Kingdom generally.

⁵⁾ Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He had been the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007; he resigned from all these positions in June 2007.

⁶⁾ Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour politician who is the current First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, President of the Board of Trade and Lord President of the Council. Mandelson served as Member of Parliament for Hartlepool for twelve years (from 1992), a seat he vacated in order to become a European Commissioner (2004–2008). He twice resigned from Tony Blair's government. After his second resignation he served as the European Commissioner for Trade for almost four years.

⁷⁾ James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party. Immediately before this he had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government from 1997 to 2007 under Tony Blair.

⁸⁾ No 10 - 10 Downing Street, the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury and hence Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The headquarters of Her Majesty's Government, it is situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London. Number 10 is perhaps the most famous address in the United Kingdom and one of the most widely recognised houses in the world.