The dodgy duo

I'm still engrossed in Andrew Rawnsley's The End of the Party. Here's another excerpt from 2004:
Camels grunted in the background. Blair had been warned that Gaddafi would probably offer him camel milk. He was told not to touch the stuff, which was notorious for causing flatulence. That was why Gaddafi would offer it.
Dressed in an ankle-length maroon robe, with a matching velvet cap, Gaddafi lounged back in his seat. He displayed the sole of his foot - a highly insulting gesture in the Muslim world - at Blair. This was designed to play to the Arab street when they saw the encounter on television. The Prime Minister pretended he hadn't noticed what the dictator was up to. Over lunch, he talked about New Labour's version of the "Third Way". Gaddafi delved into his robe and produced a copy of his "Third Universal Theory". He then offered some suggestions on how to run a totalitarian state. When Tony Blair used to talk about "Big Tent" politics, he never imagined that it would encompass sharing fish couscous in a Bedouin marquee with Colonel Gaddafi.