Our economic troubles have been going on for almost half a decade, with no end in sight. They are the worst crisis to hit Britain since the Second World War. Then we suspended party politics and created a government of national unity. Is it too much to ask that our politicians might do the same today? Is it too much to ask that they should practise what they preach, allow themselves to be suffused with the Olympic spirit, and come together to pull the nation out of its slough of economic despond?

Given Ecuador's hyperbole, you might think that British gunboats were sailing even now towards Guayaquil. But, the diplomatic note that our man in Quito left with the Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry earlier this week was a model of moderation.

I could make a strong argument that, by inviting to his suite a large gaggle of girls, most, if not all, of whom were strangers, Harry compromised his own privacy. There has been undue focus on the photos. They are but the icing - rich and delicious, it has to be said - on the cake.