Chris Mullin's diaries, A View from the Foothills, were serialised extensively in the Mail on Sunday and you can read lengthy extracts here, here and here. But the book is 590 pages long and even the Associated Newspapers story-extraction machine could not squeeze out all the good material. I've just finished it and I discovered plenty more good anecdotes. Here are 12 of them:

1. John Major wanted to ban Rupert Murdoch from owning British papers: "A quiet chat with John Major, who confirmed that he had contemplated banning foreign ownership of British media. He said he had been provoked by the continual attacks on him in the Murdoch press and in the Telegraph, which is owned by Conrad Black, a Canadian. I asked if he had commissioned any work on the subject and he said he had, but it was buried with the papers of the last government." (5/12/00)

2. Gordon Brown originally opposed the Iraq war: "[Nick Brown — a key ally of Brown's] says Gordon is against an attack on Iraq and that he — Nick — would have to consider his position if we became involved in a war." (6/9/02) We thought this was the case, but there's not much on-the-record evidence. Brown said very little about Iraq at the time of the war, but endorsed it strongly during the 2005 election campaign.

3. But later he changed his mind: "'However', said Hilary [Armstrong - chief whip at the time], '[Brown] has been brilliant during the war.' Apparently, she put it to Gordon that [Tony Blair] was more likely to anoint him if he cooperated than if he didn't and once that point had been grasped Gordon played his part to perfection." (8/5/03)

4. Britain spies on most of her allies: Mullin recounts a conversation with a security official who tells him that the UK spies on some "very civilised people", as well as the uncivilised ones. "The only people we don't spy on are the Americans, the New Zealanders, Australians and Canadians, who are all part of a little club that has agreed to share the products of their bugging, burgling and bribery." (6/8/99)

5. There were doubts about Michael Martin's ability before he was elected Speaker: "There is unease on our side as to whether Michael is up to it. 'The word from the clerks is that he isn't,' according to Donald Anderson [a Labour MP at the time]." (23/10/00) Mullin voted for Martin anyway.

6. Chris Mullin's advice for politicians: "It's true I turn down just about all my invitations to socialise with vested interests, in keeping with my First Iron Law of Politics: avoid pointless activity." (19/4/00)

7. And John Gilbert's advice for politicians: "[Gilbert, a Labour peer] is full of shrewd insights and useful advice for a budding minister. 'Avoid publicity. If it's bad, it will only upset your superiors. If it's good, they will be jealous.'" (20/4/00)

8. Some Labour MPs did not believe Brown had ended boom and bust: "Bruce [Grocott — Blair's pps] went on: 'I don't believe New Labour has abolished the economic cycle either. Sooner or later there is going to be an economic crisis." (14/11/00)

9. And they seem to have included John Prescott: Mullin quotes Prescott telling ministers that the government could not afford the £5bn it would cost to renationalise Railtrack. "Did we really want to pay that? 'Don't forget, if the economy goes down, our reserves would disappear overnight.'" (21/3/01)

10. David Blunkett was willing to consider legalising heroin: "Despite his reputation for illiberalism, David is keen to get cannabis downgraded and is even prepared to contemplate legalising and regulating the sale of heroin, 'although I don't accept that it's benign'." (19/6/01)

11. And the head of M15 seemed to favour drug legalisation too: "[Eliza Manningham-Buller, then head of MI5] hinted, but didn't quite say, that she might favour legalising and regulating drugs, but wouldn't be drawn when I pressed her, except to say that a lot of chief constables were privately sympathetic to legalising." (25/2/03)

12. Mullin thought David Cameron was a libertarian: "We have an impressive new Tory on the [home affairs] committee — David Cameron, a young, bright libertarian who can be relied upon to follow his own instincts rather than the party line." (15/11/01) Either Mullin was wrong, or Cameron has changed, because in his conference speech last year the Tory leader said: "Freedom can too easily turn into the idea that we all have the right to do whatever we want, regardless of the effect on others. That is libertarian, not Conservative — and it is certainly not me."

If you are the kind of person who has got this far into a Guardian politics blog, you would almost certainly enjoy A View from the Foothills and I recommend it without reservation. They are probably not quite as colourful as Gyles Brandreth's diaries (for my money, the best in recent years). That's probably because Mullin is more serious about his politics. But as a picture of how tedious ministerial life can be, they are outstanding. Digby Jones recently said that being a junior minister is "one of the most dehumanising and de-personalising experiences a human being can have". Mullin appeared to enjoy some aspects of his ministerial career, but he has also written many passages that bear out what Jones was saying.