Crying Wolf

Remember the story of the little boy who cried 'Wolf' once too often and eventually ended up in its jaws, when his family simply refused to believe that this time there really was a wolf? Well, our Prime Minister Tony Blair is a great one, when he's not on holiday, for muttering about non specific threats against Britain.

He rarely goes into detail. However in the last few days, like you, we've heard from our great leaders of a "treasure trove of new information" found on a laptop in Pakistan about planned Al Qaeda attacks on the US and here in the UK.

But while your workers in New York's financial district were justifiably scared out of their pants to go to work on Monday morning, here in London, our authorities rushed out and arrested around a dozen suspects across the country, and told us that there was a threat... but wouldn't actually identify where it might be directed. And then we learned that much of this information was actually gathered by the terrorists four years ago... that's even before 9/11.

So what was so special about last Monday, apart from the fact is was 4 days after John Kerry's speech at the Convention? Over here we're used to the authorities declaring alerts, especially when the going gets politically rough - "I can't tell you what the problem is, but trust me, it's serious". And the biggest threats seem to happen whenever awkward questions are asked about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Our polls tell us that most Brits simply don't believe a word that Tony Blair tells them any more. Having taken us to war against the wrong country and at the wrong time, causing countless thousands of unnecessary deaths, and all for reasons that, shall we say, seem pretty vague and variable, we are now more vulnerable than we ever were before Shock and Awe.

Messrs Bush and Blair have made both our countries not more but less safe. Having turned us into targets, and with both leaders facing an election, they then argue that they are the only ones who can save us. I know we get the politicians we deserve, but this bunch really is a pitiless lot, cranking up the fear level to keep us all in a ferment of anxiety, just so that they can say they're in control.... and cling on to power.

But the real problem is that wolf. No question he's out there…. but if you shout too many false warnings, who's to notice when the jaws are real?

By Simon Bates