Having just read Sir Michael White’s article the implication is that Geoff Hoon leaked Siobhain McDonagh’s letter. Yesterday it was put to Guido that since Siobhain didn’t leak the letter the recipient must have, Guido presumed the recipient to be Jack Dromey – which had an interesting dimension considering his wife is Harriet Harman, a potential candidate successor to the Prime Mentalist.

White however tells us, and he got it directly from McDonagh, “she acted on her own in writing privately to her boss, chief whip Hoon, 10 days ago. When Sky News got to hear about it, her choice was to confirm or deny it. She took the honest course.” The startling inference could be made that it is possible that Hoon, the Chief Whip, was responsible for the leak.

Spare a thought for Nick Robinson who yesterday morning confidently told us that “Gordon Brown no longer appears to be under threat. The cool political climate of the Autumn has replaced the heated frenzy of the Summer.”

Gordon “has been saved for now at least not by anything he’s done but by an atmosphere of weary resignation that has taken over much of his party.”

This putsch is not random synchronicity, Guido has a hunch that the plan is not a mere grassroots move to push Gordon out, it is a determined effort to use backbench proxies to shame cabinet ministers into telling Gordon his time is up. Miliband can stay out of the limelight and let Progress’ president, Alan Milburn, stir up the trouble.