Gordon Brown needs to personally apologise to Cameron, Osborne & Dorries today

Updated:

Since my last post, I have read the News of the World on the McBride emails.

My view of their gravity has increased considerably. I don't think Brown can ever recover from this debacle, which will now be an additional millstone around his neck, added to all the others. He's a dead man walking, now.

I am uncomfortable with how this has come about - through a medium that has carried so many "smears" about Labour. Sadie's Tavern clearly highlights the cynical side of this.

But that is a marginal point. Guido/Dale don't sit in Downing street. Brown does. McBride did when he wrote the emails. Despite reservations we might have about this as political activists who know many of the tricks and behind-the-scenes stuff, the public really don't want to hear "he did it first" type of schoolyard bleatings, especially when the emails were sent during work time by a highly paid employee of the crown, using government equipment and networks. Just look at the responses to Kevin Maguire when he tried to minimise the issues involved.

Iain Dale points to a very salient post from Labour MP Tom Harris. It's no good trying to diminish this. It was an almighty and horrendous mistake. It was an unforgiveable abuse of taxpayers money. Gordon Brown needs to come out today and personally apologise to all the people named in the emails. End of.