"Do we disturb you? We don't meaaan to disturb you..."

Secret (which don't stay very secret) talks appear to be in vogue for the Conservatives at the moment:

Ken Clarke, the shadow Business Secretary, is to hold secret talks in Brussels with Jose Manuel Barroso to assure the European Commission President the EU has nothing to fear from a Conservative government.

The two-day visit to Brussels, which begins on Tuesday, by the most pro-EU member of David Cameron's cabinet-in-waiting is seen by European officials as a signal that a new Conservative administration will work with the EU executive rather battling against it.

Bit like the pledge to work with Salmond and Co I guess; easy enough to *signal*, may prove harder to put into practice:

Mr Clarke, who will be accompanied by Mark Prisk and John Penrose, junior shadow business ministers, is expected to seek concessions on financial and employment regulations during the meetings, which are not listed on the European Commission's official diary.

Sounds like a deal...

Brussels sources told The Daily Telegraph that the EU may be ready to offer concessions to Mr Clarke, a pro-European, in return for assurances that the Tories will not obstruct the EU.

"If it is clear that Mr Cameron is prepared to work with us then we might have to show we are prepared to offer a concession in return," said an official.

That's nice of them. Just a question of exactly what "proof" they're wanting I suppose then.