“It's striking that the fecklessness of the United Nations and the treachery of the French draw so many yawns from establishment commentators and politicians.”

“It is also intended, no doubt, to contrast British efficiency and moral fibre with Spanish and Portuguese fecklessness.”

“For a government that prides itself on pragmatism and prudence, this is a policy that astonishes in its fecklessness and recklessness.”