Guido: punk’d by a patsy?

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

On Monday night, half an hour into the the ciritcal PLP meeting to discuss the leadership crisis, Guido Fawkes published an “exclusive” bombshell that could have reversed the direction of this fateful week.

Had it been true.

The post said that James Purnell, the former Work and Pensions Secretary who’d resigned over Gordon Brown’s leadership just three days earlier, would stand against the PM if no other candidate came forward by noon on Tuesday.

But, as I was instantly made aware by sources close to Purnell, the story was “complete boll—s”.

Of course, Purnell’s resignation letter had categorically stated “I am not seeking the leadership” and Fawkes’ double update and eventual redaction of his supposed scalp showed that he had never been certain of the reliability of his source.

It was good to get one over the self-confessed trouble-maker, but why did Guido get it so wrong?

Is he losing his touch? Did someone give him a taste of his own medicine?

Or was his “source” the patsy in a wider counter-plot of unsubstantiated behind-the-scenes forces trying to smear and discredit Purnell and others who had been bold enough to criticise Brown’s leadership?