Gordon Brown's Aides Must Accept Responsibilty

An extract from John Prescott’s campaign blog has been taken up by the Guardian and in it he rightly castigates the Murdoch media empire for its anti-Labour frenzy. He emphasises that it was a Sky News microphone that facilitated the recording of Gordon Brown’s tetchy conversation with an aide as his car drove away from his original encounter with Mrs Duffy. The subsequent exploitation of this recording by a Sky News producer does leave a nasty taste. As I understand it, it was this Sky News producer who gleefully tells Mrs Duffy what was said by Gordon Brown as the car drove off, clearly anticipating the horrified response that was caught by a raft of TV cameras.

While it is true that News International does indeed exercise a pernicious influence over the policies and direction of both the Conservatives and the Labour Party, Gordon Brown’s aides - the political advisors and press officers - bear the greater responsibility for this particular incident. That they did not disconnect him from the microphone has allowed the country to have the doubts about Brown’s character, raised recently by Andrew Rawnsley, confirmed.

The later face-to-face apology was undoubtedly the right course of action, however Gordon Brown’s subsequent reporting of it on Mrs Duffy’s doorstep was little short of cringe-making. The fixed grin, the vacuous words were acutely embarrassing even to Labour’s opponents.

Brown’s performance in tonight’s Leaders Debate now becomes even more crucial. Anything less than brilliant simply won’t be enough.