Dome insight

Lord Falconer QC again proved himself to be the one government minister with something resembling a sense of humour.

Speaking to the Association of Women Solicitors annual dinner in London last week, the current minister for housing was happy to get involved in some self-mickey taking over his role in the ill-fated Millennium Dome.

Clearly, the pain of memories of tabloid newspapers calling for him to 'be placed atop the dome and for both to be burnt to a cinder' has begun to fade.

However, what remains vivid is his experience of being on the client end of legal advice.

'Whenever our lawyers told us something I agreed with, I thought: "Why do we need this lot? I could have thought of that." And whenever the lawyers provided advice with which I didn't agree, I thought: "Get me some new lawyers."'