A huge legal, political and diplomatic nightmare ended for Britain at 1.15 p.m. yesterday afternoon when a Chilean Air Force jet carrying Gen Augusto Pinochet flew out from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
To the certain relief of his millionaire neighbours, a six-car convoy swept the former dictator from the luxury Wentworth home that had been his prison for 16 months, less than two hours after Mr Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, upheld his earlier judgment that the general was unfit to stand trial and should not therefore be extradited to Spain.
Having anticipated Mr Straw's decision, the police Operation Exit was in full swing as Mr Straw confirmed his rejection of the Spanish bid and that he would not issue "authorities to proceed" in respect of similar extradition requests from Switzerland, Belgium and France.
Three hours before the release of Mr Straw's reasons in a letter to the Spanish ambassador - at 5 a.m. - the Boeing 707, which had been on standby to take the former dictator home since January 29th, left RAF Brize Norton for an undisclosed destination.
At 9.55 a.m. the general's convoy left the Wentworth estate in East Surrey, led by police motorcycles and monitored by a police helicopter, to begin the 150-mile journey across Britain to RAF Waddington, and freedom.
But the relief of the sports stars and assorted celebrities in Wentworth's "Millionaires' Row" will have been as nothing to that felt by Mr Straw. Since the moment of Pinochet's arrest while in hospital, on October 16th, 1998, the Home Secretary has constantly been reminded of the reputation of the Home Office as a potential political graveyard.
Those on the British left were as delighted by the arrest as those on the right, led by Lady Thatcher and Lord (Norman) Lamont were outraged. Nor was it simply a case of "old left" and "old right".
As Gen Pinochet claimed diplomatic immunity as a former head of state - a claim upheld by the High Court and subsequently overruled by the law lords - Mr Peter Mandelson declared: "The idea that such a brutal dictator as Pinochet should claim diplomatic immunity, I think, for most people in this country would be pretty gut-wrenching stuff." A year later, as Bow Street magistrates prepared to commit him on conspiracy and torture charges, the Pinochet affair was dominating party conferences.
Baroness Thatcher in Blackpool declared Gen Pinochet Britain's last political prisoner, and his arrest a "judicial kidnap" which had demeaned the honour of Britain, while in Bournemouth Mr Blair won prolonged applause for his depiction of the Tories as the party of fox-hunting, Pinochet and hereditary peers, "the uneatable, the unspeakable and the unelectable."
Yesterday Lady Thatcher welcomed the release of Gen Pinochet, who she said was "a staunch friend of Britain" subjected to a political vendetta.
There was no applause from Labour ranks, as Ms Ann Clwyd MP, chairwoman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, voiced dismay at the decision, arguing: "If Pinochet is well enough to fly to Chile, he must be capable of undertaking the shorter and less arduous journey to Spain."
However, criticism of Mr Straw was fairly muted, probably because from the outset he determined to play it straight down the line, disregard the politics of the affair, and concentrate on his "quasi-judicial role".
Dr Sheila Cassidy, who was tortured by the Pinochet regime, seemed to reflect that judgment as she spoke of her sadness that he would not stand trial, saying: "In a sense fate has conspired against us".
And while dismayed at the outcome, the Chile Committee for Justice echoed Ms Clwyd's belief that the landmark case had "fully established that human rights violators have no immunity in the United Kingdom. This country is no longer a haven for retired dictators."