In Derek We Trust.

Brown must have known.

There's a headline TB never thought he would see on the BBC:

They are right though. Brown needs to come out and say that he didn't know about this in person. The fact he hasn't is only making what we all suspect just that little bit more likely to be true. Gordon Brown has built his career on destroying his enemies rather than standing up and fighting them at the ballot box. No one outside of his constituency, bar a few deluded students at Edinburgh University in 1972, have ever voted for this twisted master of the dark arts. Tom Watson may be vulnerable next, but lets not take our eye of the big picture. Brown may not have put it in writing, he may not have even directly referred to the RedRag blog, but to suggest that he didn't know what his closest and most trusted advisor was doing at the next desk, or at least have a vague idea of what was going on with Draper, is insulting and it will not wash.

The decision to allow Draper to come back would have come from the very top - let us not forget that Draper was a trusted Mandy/Blairite, so the decision to allow him to play such an important role would not have been taken lightly by the viciously tribal Brown and McBride. There is no doubt that Brown would have discussed general strategy with McBride and Watson concerning the internet. Maybe it was over a quiet whisky after a long day in No10, maybe anger one morning when reading a particularly heavy attack from Guido, either way something triggered No10 and the Labour high command to make a conscious decision to attack the right-wing blogosphere. Everyone knows that Brown is a control freak, the boss, the one that has the final say.

His desk is in the very middle of the nerve centre at No10 purely for this reason. Brown likes to know exactly what is going on around him and has his fingers in all the pies. He had to have known at least something about this. Like Nixon, he is now lying to the nation and that is what will be the final noose around his neck. The statements from No10 leave absolutely no wiggle room and the decision to put Byrne on the TV constantly for the last 24 hours was very foolish indeed. No wonder Watson is hiding. This lot are toast.

What did Brown know and when?

Quote of the day

Though both of these quotations are referring to different incidents involving the same characters they are both very apt for today:

"He has a fine intelligence, but sometimes I am afraid he misuses that intelligence. He gets above himself. But now he has been cut down to size and I think probably he will learn a very hard lesson from what has happened."

- Peter Mandelson

speaking about

Derek Draper in 1998

"Now, it’s not that you’re not apologising - like everyone else, I’ve long accepted that you’re pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for these things - it’s that you’re carrying on, wilfully worsening the situation...You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it’s nonsense."

-Daniel Hannan MEP speaking about Gordon Brown in March 2009

Talking of poison...

Not to let Dolly-gate II distract from other news completely, something else has caught Tory Bear's eye from the sunday papers. It seems that everybody's favourite Minister for Cohesion has some explaining to do. He has shamfully lambasted Britain's relationship with America and referred to it as "poisonous" in

today's Observer

.

Is that an official party line Mr Khan?

No longer the paper of Gentleman...

Guido gives the Telegraph two barrels... on a

Telegraph blog

:

Ouch!

They just can't help themselves...

TB would have thought that only an absolute bloody idiot would defend the actions of Damian McBride and his puppet Dolly. Various lefties have gone on the rampage and are moaning about hypocrisy etc blah blah, but at the end of the day no tory bloggers are paid civil servants blogging on taxpayers computers and on taxpayers time. Dolly's excuse that this stuff was never printed and therefore he is exonerated is pathetic. If he was running a truly independent website he would have either outed McBride - calling him to order for his disgusting behaviour, or at least put in a private complaint that this is not acceptable behaviour from the Fuhrer-Bunker. Likewise with Tom Watson. Seeing as neither of them did this and Draper in fact referred to the smears as "brilliant" is proof enough that they have to go.

However back to the original point. Only a complete idiot would defend the actions, but it takes a special type of blindly loyal, guttersnipe fool to continue to push the smears and lies originally made up by McBride...

So step forward please

Kevin Maguire

...

"And just what is the truth of Cameron's alleged embarrassing complaint of a highly personal nature? I, like the drinkers in the Steamboat, Alum and Riverside, would like to know."

Take a bow - the guy's son has just died and you are attempting to smear him for doing what every 19 year old student does, or at least should do - getting an STD test. Scumbag.

Some important questions...

From: CARSWELL, Douglas
Sent: Sun 12/04/2009 10:32
To: WATSON, Tom
Subject: You and Damian McBride

Dear Mr Watson,

As you know, your Downing Street colleague, Damian McBride, has resigned following revelations about his alleged involvement in attempts to smear political opponents by disseminating apparently fabricated stories via the internet.

In Mr McBride's own words, he wrote up “some of the stories doing the rounds in Westminster." When did you first become aware of your close colleague, Mr McBride’s, efforts to write up these “stories”?

It has been alleged that you were copied in on some email exchanges relating to some of the “stories” Mr McBride had been preparing. To what extent might you have colluded in the preparation of these “stories”? Did you at any time seek to discourage your colleague, Mr McBride, with whom you worked closely in Downing Street, from preparing such fabricated smear stories for dissemination via the internet?

You are, of course, a government minister, with responsibilities for the Civil Service. Can you please confirm that you received certain emails relating to Mr McBride’s preparation of these “stories” as a government minister, on government equipment and in government time?

Finally, can you please confirm when it was that you first became aware of the Red Rag project, and confirm the extent of your involvement in it?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards,

Douglas Carswell MP

House of Commons

TB won't be doing his usual Sunday paper round-up but instead focusing on the only story that is going to matter for the next 72 hours:

The Sunday Times is first out of the blocks with some damning stuff:

• Draper has hung himself with one word - "Brilliant"

• The Sunday Times leader is brutal for Brown and t'Labour Party.

• Some teasing details.

• TalkSport: This is possibly the hardest thing that TB has even written - he agrees fully with pretty much everything George Galloway says in
  this interview
  with Derek Draper.

• The Daily Mail weighs in and takes the fight to the very top. Are you going to say sorry Mr Brown?

• Even the Guardian is pretty harsh, despite going with the juvenile spin it concedes that yesterday was "a clear victory for the blogosphere over the political establishment."

• The Guardian also gives TB's video a nod:

"Draper also forgot that online, video counts for a thousand words: Tory bloggers took appropriate revenge yesterday by posting a YouTube video of him denying in a television interview previous allegations that Downing Street had helped orchestrate his arguments."

In case you happened to miss said video:



And there it is...

The News of the World clearly let the rest of the papers get their first editions distributed and saved the explosive stuff until the wee hours:

Reeead allll about it.

Lies Lies Lies.

Dolly just put in a car crash performance on Channel Four News. Live on the line from Lanzegrotty he said he won't quit and that other people were CC'd into the emails and that he "honestly" couldn't remember if Tom Watson was "accidentally" CC'd and that he wasn't "lying on purpose" it was just that he didn't have access to a computer to check his email. Another lie because how else did he write

this

.

The argument Labour are going with is that this was a personal chat between mates. Utter twaddle as it was done on taxpayer time, from taxpayer computers with the consent of Ministers and spinners. Stephen Pound embarrassed himself on SkyNews by saying that his generation don't get the Internet and then proceeding to make all sorts of virginal references to Brown and co. Highly odd.

Ah this true popcorn stuff and TB can't help but laugh at the idiot guests on the Sky paper review last night that dismissed this as a non-story and said it was completely inconsequential. Spot on Lads. The News of the World is sending out press releases and

cranking up the tension

for midnight:

Time for a few more Peroni's before that though!

Cheers Damian.

TB is celebrating the demise of McBride in the

only appropriate way

- with a nice

cold Peroni

:

Over to you Dolly.

McBride Owned.

1 down, 3 or so to go...

Congratulations are in order to one

Guido Fawkes Esq.

Hain, now McBride, Dolly later.. who next?

+++McBride quits+++

Now confirmed.

Red Flag to a Bear...

TB has finally got some sleep and re-emerged to see his little Dolly tribute all over the place. Thank you very much to everyone who has posted it and for your kind words - a well spent all nighter! It's not looking good for Labour, both Guido and Iain Dale have hit the airwaves, giving articulate and damning assessments of just how bleak this situation is for No10. The line that Brown didn't know about this strategy is frankly not good enough. Either he's a barefaced liar, like Draper, or he's totally and utterly incompetent, like Draper. Neither are desirable characteristics for a Prime Minister. The idea that these smears were just a bit of gossip and banter between friends has also been blown out of the water by

Dizzy

and

Isaby

who have exposed the fact that the

RedRag

blog was set up and ready to go.

So roll on midnight and the first glimpse at the NOTW....LabourHome have already done

the right thing

, but Dolly has

denied

his master once. Will he do so two more times before the cock crows tomorrow?

Oh to be a fly on the wall in Downing St right now.

Hat-Tip -

LabourHome

&

GOT

for the images.

LabourLost:

A weekend is a long time in politics:

The Bard Bear...

TB is very proud of Sister Bear the journo and poet, who features in

today's Times

:

Tory Bear's favourite poem is on his special mug out of which he drinks his morning tea...

Isn't it funny how a bear likes honey.
Buzz, buzz, buzz I wonder why he does?

McBrideisnailedtoa-gate

Guido

has stated

that the Downing St

spin operation

concerning snide McBride has already lied over the fact that other people in No10 and the government were involved in this fascinating saga. What has become clear over night, mainly due to a planted story for

damage limitation

in the Telegraph, and some

interesting chat

on PB is that there is some pretty toxic lies about Cameron and Osborne, and their families, in these email chains between Draper, McBride and... who else? The line that this is a mere bloggers tiff isn't going to wash. This is going to be big.

Who else could be making a hasty get-away?

Certain ministers

known for their usual loudness are very, very quiet aren't they... Any mention of Dolly has already been taken off LabourList and McBride is no doubt holding an icepack to a very sore Nokia induced bump on his noggin...

Pull up a pew, crack open the Peronis... it's going to be a great weekend.

Hello Goodbye Dolly

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Taxi for McBride and Dolly.

This is only just beginning...

Crate of champagne to

this fella

...

Shameless self-promotion...

TB got a rather nice email from a student at LSE today suggesting that he enters this blog to the

NUS Media Awards

. He hasn't got a hope in hell of winning but after taking some soundings from his advisers, as well as chatting to his family and his association, Tory Bear can now confirm he allow his name to go forward for the first round ballot.

Could any students out there who enjoy a bit of gonzo NOTW sensationalism and political gossip please send some nice words about Tory Bear that he can put on his nomination form. Also any suggestions for your favourite stories would be great.

Thank you - usual address.

Ever wondered about the whole Easter Bunny/egg thing?

Well now we know:

Happy Easter!

Wife-beating, nationalist, tax dodger to be honoured

That has to be TB's best NOTW headline yet, but it's all true. Sticking with Edinburgh University, it seems that Sean Connery, the

nationalist supporting

,

tax dodging

,

wife beating

actor is to be awarded and honorary degree.

The University has a track record of getting these things spectacularly wrong, and it was only after

serious pressure

was applied by the students, that stripping ol' Bob Mugabe of his degree was even considered. It's not really turned out to be a good day for the University's press officers now has it. Despite his politics and the fact the he doesn't even pay tax in Scotland, this video alone should be enough to rule him out of contention:



It seems the

whole honours list

has turned out to be a bit of a nationalist love-in with

Annie Lennox

and

Sir Tom Hunter

also being awarded degrees.

So it's clearly simple logic - donate to the SNP and Edinburgh University gives you a degree.

Hat-tip -

@joshmacalister