When I saw the front page headline in today's Mail on Sunday, I thought to myself: 'I bet that's Ivan Lewis'. The headline was MINISTER: I'M SORRY FOR TEXTS TO GIRL, 24. Now don't get me wrong, I had no prior knowledge of Mr Lewis's text habits, but what I do know is that the junior health minister has angered Number 10 by several off message outbursts about how the government needs to get its act together. Since then, anonymous briefings have suggested he should behave or suffer the consequences.
He has just suffered the consequences.
Politics is a lovely business, eh? It comes to something when a government briefs the Mail on Sunday against one of its own. No doubt they will issue 'perish the thought' denials, but anyone with half a brain will know that this story hasn't appeared by accident.
UPDATE: Fraser Nelson agrees.
19 comments:
Oh oh - Another 'friendly fire' incident...
Still, it will teach them to keep their traps shut..
'Pour encourageur les autres..' as it says on the German Audi adverts..
Fight fire with fire..
'Blue on blue' becomes 'red on red'..
Really, how long can it be before another season of 'The Thick of It' is commissioned ??
Yes politics is a dirty game. But he deserves no sympathy. Its the victim of his sleazy advances that deserves that.
Arguably what he has done amounts to harassment. If he had any decency he would resign. But of course its new labour we're dealing with. So he'll stay a member of a government that has made a big deal out of promoting equality in the workplace. Sleazy and hypocritical. New Labour to the core.
Labour - sleaze, sleaze and more sleaze.
Time for a new book for giving to our socialist friends and family at Christmas Iain ?
Ivan Lewis is after all merely a junior Minister and is expendable and is rumoured to be dropped at the re-shuffle anyway but it will serve as a warning to more "Senior figures" that Brown and No10 know "where the bodies are buried" and will deploy the "nucleur option" if required to ensure loyalty ahead of the Conference and beyond.
Not only are they seeking revenge on one of their own who has stepped out of order, criticising Gordon in public. They have also put an innocent ex civil servant into the media spotlight, neither paper has quotes from the girl so it must be assumed that she did NOT want to be part of this. They do not care who they damage on the way, when it comes to protecting Gordon and enforcing his revenge.
The Stephen Carter 'nice' era is over.
See now, this is why I follow politics - for the sport!
It's like watching a knife-fight with blades so fine & sharp as to be all but invisible to the naked eye.
The loser only realises they've been mortally wounded when they notice the expanding red-patch on the front of their shirt.
There should be plenty of this coming in the next few weeks.
Sure is a dirty game Ian. Ask Caroline spelman, she was stitched up by a Tory.
Will we now be seeing an insincere rash of disingenuous messages of full and unreserved 'support' for GB in advance of the Party Conference..
Yes you have correctly Identified the real story here Ian.
The comments left by the Mail readers on it's website calling for Lewis to go are laughable. The story is over a year old, Miss Mason did not make a formal complaint and the matter was correctly dealt with by her civil service management.
If the Mail had an ounce of journalism about it then it would be investigating the sacking of Stephen Carter and outstanding vendettas and old scores now being settled by the pack of No10 attack dogs.
Hate, hyprocricy and spite - it's the socialists stock in trade - and they're even incompetent at that!! Witness their own goal with Tory Toffs and Sarah Palin.
Notice how the BBC don't even mention the story. Whenever some Nu Liebour type is caught up to no good the BBC ignores it.
Peter Hain anyone?
The Tupster wrote:
BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS
WOLVES sTORY COUNCILLORS IN SUNDAY MIRROR
RUNNING BROTHEL FROM THEIR HOME
SUNDAY MIRROR PAGE 19
For those having difficulty in buying todays Sunday Mirror here is the link courtesy of the Mirror.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/09/07/exclusive-tory-councillors-run-a-brothel-at-their-house-115875-20727743/
Isn't it an amazing coincidence that anyone who crosses New Labour becomes a cropper?
The policeman who arrested a drunk Euan Blair.
The ticket inspector who fined Cherie Blair.
More recently we have Fern Britton making Gordon Brown look a bit silly. Watch it here.
Several weeks later poor Fern was subjected to this tabloid treatment over her weight loss.
All very coincidental but does make you wonder if the fundamental problem with New Labour is that it is just a vindictive media mafia.
Must be enough there for an ambitious journalist to get to the bottom of there and find out which piblicly paid employee is using their time to get revenge for the Dons.
Martin, 1.16pm
"Notice how the BBC don't even mention the story. Whenever some Nu Liebour type is caught up to no good the BBC ignores it."
Simply not true. It was on the morning Radio 4 news bulletins, and it's on the BBC website. If you're going to come up with conspiracy theories, check your facts.
Why should anybody be in the least surprised.
This is a sleazy desperate and morally bankrupt government.
I'm sure there will be endless stories of new Labour sleaze between now and the next general election.
Those of us who remember the dying days of Major's government and the way in which Blair came to power will sit back and enjoy it.
i think they copied tory tactics on this. Cameron wants rid of spellman for being a poor party chair, low and behold - stories in the press about her nanny.
This story was common knowledge in the Department of Health months ago. Unlike another "scandal" involving a Minister,it has finally surfaced in the papers.
What a coincidence therefore that it surfaces when Ivan Lewis had been scathing about Gordon Brown in the media. My only surprise is that No. 10 used the Mail on Sunday, the Tory supporter's favourite, as its weapon of mass destruction.
This story first hit the streets in the first edition of the News of the World complete with picture of Sarah Mason. The impression the News of the World article gives is that she sold her story to them.
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