It's time to scrap G8 meetings. They do more to focus disruption and dissent than to move along global progress. That makes the whole thing a huge security circus - costing money and effort that could be better applied to other things.

As Christopher Fildes reports, the G8 has 'just growed'. It started 30 years ago as an economic conflab between the US Britain, France and Germany on oil prices and exchange rates. Then Japan asked to tag along. Whereupon, says Fildes, "the Italians made a scene about being left out, and Canada was brought in as a balancing act. The party of four had become a Group of Seven."

When groupie Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of France, he wanted a grander event, and turned it from an economic chat into a summit spectacular. The Russians were invited in as consolation prize for losing the Cold War. And so it continues.

But does the G8 actually achieve anything which could not be achieved by the eight leaders having a video conference call every now and then? That would certainly spare the rest of us a lot of cost and disruption. Of course, Russia is down to chair the 2006 summit, so I guess we have to give them their shot. But after that, Fildes is right. It's time to erase the whole circus from the calendar.