How will Brown pay public tribute to Kennedy?

For years Gordon Brown would drop in on Ted Kennedy on his regular summer trips to the US. Brown could talk easily and in depth about the characters of US politics past and present.

In March of this year he announced an honorary knighthood for Ted Kennedy in a speech to the joint Houses of Congress. In April 2008, he chose to give what he hoped would be a defining speech about his vision of foreign policy at the JFK Library in Boston, introduced by Ted Kennedy.

The Prime Minister wrote a chapter in his first book on “Courage” on Bobby Kennedy, and is a politician, like few others in the UK, who knows and reveres the achievements of the Kennedy dynasty. 

A written tribute was quickly issued by No. 10, but the Prime Minister’s every instinct would be to give an on-camera tribute too. He’s back in Scotland now and no doubt pondering that issue.

He’s under attack for not speaking out on the Lockerbie bomber’s release while readily speaking out on other issues. Will another appearance speaking about something else fuel his opponents? No confirmation yet but you would expect Mr Brown’s strong attachment to Ted Kennedy to win out.