The Government has been assiduously promoting its spin on Dearing, but blew things badly on launch day by its treatment of the education press. It gave them David Blunkett's statement on the report early, and then locked them in a room to avoid breaches of parliamentary protocol should they discuss it. Here they waited for Blunkett to brief them. And waited, until a press officer had to admit he was not coming. They were eventually let out, but the only sighting they had of Blunkett was on TV.