But will Dr John Reid resign?

Defence Secretary Dr John Reid succinctly summed-up the pigs-ear that security seems to be at Sandhurt when he described the scandalous lapses in security there as having "no excuse" and opining that the Sun newspaper had "done us a service".

Frankly, so far as I am concerned, the fact that Prince Harry is currently undergoing training there is only one of the factors that makes these series of lapses in security so shocking. We are not, after all, talking about the local TA centre, or indeed the local branch of Tesco where, in peacetime, security might not be the first thing that enters the heads of those who manage such installations. No, we are talking about the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Britain's elite training centre for its army officer corps. I'd lay a wager that things are better organised at West Point or at St Cyr!

So my question is this: Is Dr John Reid going to do the honourable thing, accept that these lapses are his responsility as Secretary of State for Defence, and offer his resignation to the Prime Minister? I very much doubt it, but this is what used to happen in the UK when a department under the control of a government minister fell short of what we, the tapxpayers, have every right to expect of our government. This Labour Government is rarely honourable, it mostly seeks to duck and dive to avoid taking responsibility for the crass way this country is now managed on our behalf. I won't be holding my breath ...