Tory Bogus Sleaze: Did Dale Make Three Mistakes? Or Just Two?

Alastair Campbell has blogged on the rogue McBride (but NOT Draper, though Whelan gets a mention or two).

The stories are still missing something. Something important. Perhaps Guido has more emails? But the NOTW for example have failed to stand up their promise that TheRedRag was an ongoing project, even though they pretend they have done, rather than shelved some time ago. And in the Observer Gaby Hinsliff has stated that her paper: "Understands the plan was only placed on ice this month".

Where has this understanding come from? Someone or other, Iain Dale perhaps, made a couple or three claims during the course of Holey Saturday. He certainly claimed live on BBC News Channel that McBride was bound to be politically neutral which was wrong, he certainly claimed that Tom Watson MP was copied in to these emails which was also wrong, and I do believe it was Iain who claimed that the latest discussion on TheRedRag was "within the last two weeks" OWTTE.

Two of these three claims were wrong, but was the third? Clearly, while the whole thing shows a complete skill and judgement by-pass from McBride and Draper, the shelving of this project would be some kind of consolation for their muppetry.

The Observer have also pulled out a surprising thought from Nadine: "This is not just about me - it's my daughters (sic) at school, my parents". Having received more mostly unused story tips about Nadine Dorries than any other MP I must say that she's left it a bit late to start thinking of her family's feelings. There are already a couple of husbands, some whiffy positioning anecdotes, and plenty of complete and utter Bargery rot lying in her wake.

And of course one of her daughters is now heading up her Westminster team - almost straight out of college and a fact that has remained completely unblogged - another is at college, and there's just the one at school. Nadine apparently can't even manage an honest and coherent quote of a wronged woman.

FOOTNOTE: How is sleazy Conservative spin chief Andy Coulson feeling at this mid-stage of the long weekend of the long knives? I'm guessing he'll still be feeling pretty nervous. Cameron did go to a clap clinic after all. Osborne is crap after all, and there are those pictures. Hansard does record the odd bit of Tory product placement. And Dorries is stone liability.

What's more at least some of this well worn Westminster gossip will have been originated by jostling gossiping Tories themselves. And in the three months since those emails there will be a fair bit more of that in transit through the bowels of power.