Talking Head: The Travails of the Ambitious Media Whore

Time after time Iain Dale makes full disclosure on the minutiae of his media whoring diary. A giddy rise and tragic fall a la Fanny Hill beckons perhaps? Last night he revealed that he had had to choose between honouring a date with Lady Bellingham and the Sky News papers review or locking horny horns with John Prescott on BBC Newsnight. What is a poor media whore to do? Above, an artist's impression of Mr Dale (right) coming down hard on Mr Prescott's ass.

I'm not sure how they managed it but some of Iain's sycophantic sock puppets managed to deduce from this news that someone somewhere was "frit". Prescott? BBC Newsnight? The only person that might be called "frit" here was Dale. "Frit" of losing the momentum of his Sky News talking head career.

Actually Iain has probably done the right thing here, though at 8pm on a Thursday, three and a half hours before the review was due to air, it seems odd that there was not a ready substitute who could have stepped in for the more routine gig. Are Sky News not professionals, able to be flexible when something comes up?

Where Iain is absolutely wrong I'd say is to imply that BBC Newsnight will not now consider inviting him the next time they want a Tory blogger talking head. Before he typed that he was dead wrong ... but now he has displayed this gratuitous delusion of grandeur he might be right.

On the substance of Coulson-gate. Is Deputy Yates actually a Tory? Or just an idiot taking instructions from spinning Tories? Or actually using weasel words to deflect and distract while cases are compiled? Or even simply clearing the decks for all kinds of civil actions to take their rightful and costly place centre stage?

As Brian Paddick pointed out Yates' announcement was specific to the determined case which ended with a scribbler and a hacker going to prison. It was not a pardon for the other 304 journos identified as conspirers with hackers, blaggers and bin divers by the Information Commissioner. The CPS could very easily tell him to go back to any one of those potential cases and investigate?

That evidence was sequestered and may remain so while there are live police enquiries. But how long will that lock up actually last?

If there is no criminal action then literally hundreds of celebs may choose to take civil actions. They will sub poena those papers. They should be out on a moderately short timetable.

Coulson will surely have to go if there are ANY other cases involving NOTW journalists and payments to "consultants". As Andrew Neil has said over and over again it beggars belief that any editor - competent or indeed incompetent I'd add - would not have an idea that more than two dozen of their feral scribblers were walking on the wild side with bumptious blaggers, filthy bin divers and digital hackers.

Just a thought ... how are the BBC now getting critted by Iain's sock muppets for extending an invitation that you were unable to accept? Presumably some Tory apologist or other did find themselves available? I didn't see the programme. How does this make anyone "frit"?

And could it be that Iain's friend the Newsnight editor, getting it in the neck from Iain and others for his Politics Pen line up (see Footnote) is too kind to reveal that his line up was not his first choice? But that a series of moody media whorey Tory types were too busy sucking up to Murdoch's Sky TV or keeping options open to actually take part in a pinko BBC production?

If that is there are any Tory types, outside of parliament, of sufficient profile that also understand economic policy? Even inside parliament there is a dearth of Tories that do policy or do economics, and of course even George Osborne himself has outed his poor wife Frances for contriving his mortgages and so on.

Was this because (a) it was beyond poor George's wit? or (b) to provide a scape goat should his rather ridiculous mortgages from pater, flipping from mansion to mansion, and avoidance of CGT ever becomes the story.

BREAKING NEWS, from Robert Peston of all people, way outside his usual news beat: Rebecca Wade herself was on the hacking list but declined to press charges.