Mission accomplished - Matthew Parris

It’s amazing how often politicians’ most public words come back to haunt them, and Mission Accomplished is a priceless treasure-trove of their verbal blunders, indiscretions, regrettable promises, about-turns, deceptions, lies … and just plain stupidity. Ranging across the centuries and across the globe this salutary and hugely funny book comes bang up-to-date with all those immortal lines our leaders have made into classics. ‘This is a great day for France.’ – Richard Nixon in Paris for the funeral of President Pompidou, 1974. ‘It’s not a day for sound bites; really, we can leave those at home. But I feel the hand of history on our shoulder.’ – Tony Blair, on the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, 1998. ‘If Prime Minister Sharon had lived…he is dead, isn’t he? No? It’s an easy mistake to make.’ – Kim Howells, Middle East Minister, 2007. This ‘skunk’ is unbelievably powerful. It's completely different to - I think I'll stop there. Conservative leader, David Cameron, 2007 ‘I have opinions of my own – strong opinions – but I don’t always agree with them.’ – President George W. Bush, 2002