There were no tears yesterday but Tony Blair's final cabinet was emotional, with tributes from colleagues who applauded the outgoing Prime Minister and gave him a standing ovation.
His goodbye present, a painting of Chequers, Mr Blair's country retreat in Buckinghamshire for the past 10 years, was presented by his colleague and friend Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary.
Mr Blair's spokesman, who is due to depart with his boss next Wednesday, said yesterday's hour-long cabinet was "an event I had never seen before", as senior figures paid tribute.
First up was Jack Straw, the Commons Leader, who said history would judge Mr Blair as "one of the most successful PMs ever", having taken the necessary tough decisions and left Britain a better place in which to live. He later said it was a "very moving and poignant occasion".
Gordon Brown, Mr Blair's successor, pointed to the domestic issues of Northern Ireland, the Olympics, the minimum wage and public services, and the international ones of climate change and Third World poverty as his colleague's finest achievements.
He told the PM: "Whatever we achieve in the future will be because we are standing on your shoulders." Mr Blair responded by saying Mr Brown had "all the qualities to make a great prime minister" and that he would have his "unswerving support". The PM added that he felt now was "the right moment to go".
Mr Blair's spokesman described the occasion as one filled with "good humour and warm affection". He admitted the subject of Iraq did come up and was mentioned as "one of the difficult decisions the PM had to face up to as was Afghanistan".
Such was the "extraordinary" nature of Mr Blair's last cabinet, David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, arrived late for his Commons Questions. Mr Miliband said: "The tolerance of the House, I'm sure, is related to the fact that it understands it takes a very long time to enumerate all the achievements of the Prime Minister."
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