IT WAS created as a symbol of a modern, stylish Britain, hoping to secure the Olympic Games. Over the past year, the London Olympic 2012 tie has become a sure sign of a prime minister under pressure.

Amid Cabinet splits and international pressure, Tony Blair wore his Olympic tie yesterday to give his press conference on the Middle East with rumours of Cabinet splits over his policy towards Lebanon. He wore it at the G8 summit in St Petersburg a day after it was revealed two of his ministers had

been questioned by police officers investigating the “cash for peerages” affair. Expectations were high that he would be next to be interrogated about the allegations Labour donors had been offered peerages.

He also wore it in June just as Labour donors started calling in their loans after the “cash-for-peerages” scandal. In February, as he defended his controversial education reforms in the Commons hours after Labour rebels had forced him to water down controversial plans about school selection, there it was on his trembling chest. In March, just after his defeat on the Government’s plans to detain terrorist suspects for 90 days, he played football in it on a trip to Beijing.

In April, as Charles Clarke and Patricia Hewitt came under fire for respective difficulties within the Home Office and the NHS, and John Prescott began to implode, that tie seemed to be his one reliable constant.

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