So a number of third world countries will have their debts cancelled. There are lots of people in this country who are poor and in debt. Come on Chancellor Brown, charity begins at home so why not cancel their debts. Abolish poverty in the United Kingdom.

It is of course assumed that the majority of the debt-ridden poor in this country are feckless and in that situation through their own fault. So cancelling their debts would do no good. They would just run up further debts. That is perhaps true of some of these third world countries. Cancelling their debts will just enabled them to go out and borrow more to build more white elephants. The starving populations will be no better off. Mr Brown has said very little about how he proposes to see that the money is well spent.

I have a solution. Our civil service still has a reputation for probity and good governance. Mr Brown should set up a department in Whitehall to run these third world countries. Without fear or favour nor any whiff of corruption they would administer the money freed up by the cancellation of debt to the benefit of the local populations. And I have even thought of a name for this new department, the Colonial Office.

I am about to arrange a meeting of world leaders. Every time they have met before, there has been trouble, demonstrators and anarchists, injury to people and damage to property. These leaders can meet anywhere; money and expense is of no consequence to them. I think I might pick a remote island, an aircraft carrier or cruise liner somewhere far out at sea. I hope I would have the common sense not to choose a country hotel next door to a sleepy peaceful Scottish town.

So why is the 2005 G8 meeting at Gleneagles? Is it perhaps because these world leaders actually enjoy the limelight, the mayhem, the policemen injured protecting them from the extremists? Do they need the demonstrators to boost their already inflated egos? Would the meeting barely rate a mention on the news channels, if it were not for the marches? Is this a mutual feeding frenzy of politicians and anarchists at the trough of the world's media?

Who is manipulating whom?