While it's always dangerous to get too complacent, there's a danger in not celebrating what victories you do glean.

1. Whatever comes back in the Autumn, we'll have advanced warning. When the Home Secretary admits that his department "blundered", and implies that the previous Home Secretary dropped him in it by failing to consult with the concerned parties, you can be fairly sure that it won't be in this form.

2. Opinion on that particular minister is a) he was misremembering his brief, and b) he's about due to be torn off a strip by the Home Secretary. I'm looking into current practice, and while it's complex, it seems to be something like this. In a nutshell: ISPs are *permitted* to hand over data to govt deparments in order to prevent crime, but they generally don't (they tell whoever it is to come back with a warrant and a copper). It's certainly not like the RIPA Order, where they'd be *forced to* by law. Very different.

3. Hugh is David Blunkett's son, and you're right, he did brief his father. But who told Hugh? Who explained the issues to Hugh? Given that Hugh's 22 years old, and a big Net user, we reckon he was just one of the people who grew informed on these issues by people like you putting the order on their blogs, sending the story to slashdot, and generally making a fuss.

God knows I'm infamous for being cynical, but like paranoia, I know when it gets in the way. Convincing you that you can't do a thing to change politics is the first tool in a dictator's bag. If you mentioned this to anyone, posted this on your Website, contacted your MP, take some responsibility , and pat yourself on the back.