Mark Pack

Although I know Jim Callaghan didn’t say, “Crisis? What crisis?” and that Disraeli’s coalition quote was a case of political self-interest rather than constitutional wisdom, I had thought that Harold Macmillan really did say “Events, dear boy, events” when asked what was most likely to knock governments off course.

Now, however, I know better.

As with the case of Lewis Carroll, even relatively recent historical truth can prove remarkably elusive, with hard evidence difficult to find and much apparently robust evidence simply turning out to be a case of everyone quoting everyone else.