I’m sure at one level Gordon Brown must be furious about today’s story in the Sunday Times, which doesn’t exactly look great for Labour. (The Tories, by contrast, weren’t taken in by the fake lobbying company).
Then again, look at who has been caught out by the sting: Stephen Byers, who has machinated for years to remove Brown from power; and – to a lesser extent – Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt, who tried to start a new coup earlier this year.
Byers appears simply ludicrous, with his claim to be “a bit like a sort of cab for hire” and his boasting about his friendship with Tony Blair.
It’s not hard to imagine Brown’s face this morning looking a little like this:
UPDATE: More info on how the MPs were fooled.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey