Brown's options for the machinery of Whitehall are constrained, as for all prime ministers, by the need to palliate allies and hug enemies close (John Reid, say).
(3 syl ) means simply to cloak (Latin, pallium, a cloak ) That we should not dissemble nor cloke them [our sins] but confess them with a humble, lowly, and obedient heart - Common Prauer Book
to try to conceal the seriousness of an offense by excuses and apologies; to moderate the intensity of; to reduce the seriousness of; to relieve or lessen without curing