"A Bit of Local Colour"

On that 45 minute claim:

"That is my personal explanation of why, as it were, people fell on the 45 minutes - at least that was something the secret service would allow to be used," Sir David said.

"And, with hindsight, one can see that adding a bit of local colour like that is asking for trouble but we didn't really spot that at the time."

Really, what the fuck? A "bit of local colour"? This was part of a report that sent British troops to kill and die in a foreign land. You don't add a "bit of local colour" to a report like that. You try to make it as accurate as possible! Surely, by definition, "intelligence" should at least aspire to be intelligent?

"A little bit of local colour" deserves to become as notorious as Alan Clark's claim to being "economical with the actualité". It simply adds to the sinking feeling I have that the film In The Loop actually wasn't a satire on how we chose to go to war, but rather a documentary.

Don't worry about the truth of any claim being made by the government, people. See, they might just be adding a "bit of local colour" to what they present as facts.