The stories are seeping out from No. 10. The other day, Gordon Brown was convinced that Dominic Grieve, the shadow Home Secretary, had made such a strong attack on 42-day detention as to impugn his commitment to national security. Although Downing Street advisers trawled and Googled, they could not find the quote. Their boss expressed gratitude for their efforts in the way that a sergeant-major would thank a recruit for a speck of dust on his rifle. Mr Brown then stationed himself at a terminal. For the next four hours, he sat there unavailingly, emanating gloom and rage. The non-psychiatric interpretation of his behaviour is termed “the playing politics with national security syndrome”.

Shortly afterwards, John Prescott was in No. 10, showing around some children. “What’s he doing in this building?” exploded Mr Brown. “Get him out of here.” (He surely cannot regard Mr Prescott as a potential leadership challenger – otherwise, things are truly desperate).

Embarrassed aides explained that, you know, Mr Prescott had been Deputy Prime Minister until last year, and what harm could there be in showing kids around? Gordon Brown’s response was to shut himself in the Cabinet Room for the next two hours, talking to no-one.

In emails and conversations people say that they think twat-watch and the Prime Mentalist tag are very amusing. Guido is deadly serious, we have a head of government who is not in touch with reality and dangerously malevolent. He has surrounded himself with second-rate yes men who don’t stand up to him and cowed the cabinet with his angry vindictiveness. That is why we have such dysfunctional government. Ministers and MPs were too scared to hold a contested election for leader, they are by and large too scared to openly tell him to go, so the curtain won’t come down on the disaster show…