In an impromptu and al fresco press conference (the BBC reporter's description) after her talks in 10 Downing Street today, Joanna Lumley announced that Gordon Brown had promised a rapid solution to the problem of Gurkha settlement.
The Prime Minister's response, to a question by Iain Duncan Smith, at question time in the House, was more guarded, but still indicated a change of heart by government in the light of their defeat last week.
Incidentally, the former leader of the party put the only question from the Tory benches which concerned policy, rather than Gordon Brown's position within the Labour Party.
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We now know that while those assurances had been given, letters of rejection had already been sent out by the Home Office. Joanna Lumley may still trust Gordon Brown, as the publicly declared on Wednesday, but millions would not. His ignorance may be genuine, in which case he has a department which is acting without checks or explanations as a state-within-a-state.
As Chris Huhne put it: "At worst this was a betrayal of the Gurkhas and at best a monumental shambles in Government where one part didn't know what the other part was doing."
A further thought: it was great to see that arch media manipulator Phil Woolas upstaged and embarrassed by Joanna Lumley at that press conference yesterday.
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