The Queen, we are told, is not best pleased at the slapdash way Tony Blair has consigned hundreds of years of constitutional history to oblivion with his decision to abolish the post of Lord Chancellor.

She is not the only one. In fact, Blair has managed to alienate just about everybody connected with the justice system, except, that is, David Blunkett, who successfully resisted pressure for the Home Office to be stripped of its responsibility for criminal justice.