How very apt that the last of Tony Blair's "legacy" speeches deals with one of his worst legacies: the culture of spin. It is, to be fair, an attempt to disentangle the tortured relationship between politics and the media in the era of instant information. But, like New Labour, it is less than full and frank.

In his lecture at Reuters yesterday, Mr Blair started with a quick admission of "my own complicity" in paying "inordinate attention" to the media shortly after assuming power. That is not much of a mea culpa. The manipulative tactics used by Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson were an understandable defence against tabloids that destroyed Neil Kinnock's election chances, but indefensible as a permanent government strategy of intimidation and favouritism.