Martin Salter's Westminster Diary, February 25, 2010

Martin Salter MP • Published 25 Feb 2010 09:00 0 Comments

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On Sunday we heard the 'shock horror' allegations that the Prime Minister occasionally loses his rag with his civil servants, prompting Tory spin doctors to call for yet another inquiry to maximise perceived political embarrassment for the Government.

It appears Conservative high command lacks any sense of irony because David Cameron's chief spinner is former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who himself was found guilty of bullying by an industrial tribunal in November!

It would be extremely convenient for all concerned with the rebranding of Cameron's Conservative Party if another unholy row about Mr Coulson, he of the phonetapping furore, can be avoided.

The last thing Cameron needs is his press chief once again engulfed in the type of controversy which led to his resignation from the News of the Screws. But it seems Mr Cameron had few qualms about such matters when it comes to who works in his office so, if he becomes Prime Minister, Coulson moves into Number 10, despite past involvement in bullying and phonetapping scandals.

In the scramble to smear Gordon Brown there have been some distinctly unedifying moments. Perhaps the lowest point was the intervention of the aptly named Christine Pratt, chief executive and founder of the National Bullying Helpline, whose existence must now be in doubt.

In her haste to help the Conservatives, Mrs Pratt not only breached her duty of confidentiality but failed to stand up any of her claims.

She initially disclosed that her organisation had received "three or four" calls from staff at Downing Street, then said it could have been "two or three" but she'd check, before deciding the calls may have come from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which was totally separate from Downing Street and anyway hasn't existed since May 2006.

Finally, under further questioning, she wasn't even sure the complaints were about the Prime Minister.

David Cameron must already be regretting getting involved in a botched exercise in political dirty tricks based on a few anonymous sources whispering to a journalist with a book to sell.

Now that all the reputable patrons of this so-called confidential helpline have resigned in protest, I predict that very shortly Mr Cameron will no longer wish to feature so prominently on its website.

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