It is a live broadcast from the Canary Islands. Pope Leo has touched down. The backdrop is a migrant crisis that refuses to fade. Number 10 is watching. Closely.
Sources in the Home Office tell me Border Force has been put on a heightened state of readiness. Not an official mobilisation. No press release. But the message is clear: a papal visit to the frontline of irregular migration is a political landmine.
The optics are brutal for the government. The pontiff walking among rubber dinghies. The Archbishop of Canterbury staying silent. Labour MPs are already sharpening their knives.
I am told the Home Secretary has cancelled a planned visit to a processing centre in Kent. Too risky. The media scrum would be unforgiving. Instead she will remain in her office for the afternoon, fielding calls from Europol.
But the real game is in the polling. Focus groups show the public is weary. They want compassion but also control. The Pope's message is clear: 'Welcome the stranger.' The government's message is equally clear: 'Deterrence works.'
There is chatter about a possible joint statement. A papal call for safe routes? A UK pledge of aid? The Vatican says no plans. The Foreign Office says no comment. That means something is in the works.
Backbench Tories are restless. The 2022 intake is nervous. They see the Channel crossings as their political grave. A papal blessing on the NGO rescue boats would be a nightmare for them.
Let's watch the press conference. The Pope is smiling. That is never a good sign for Downing Street.
