Chris Huhne will get to spend one more Christmas a free man.

The Sunday Times have lodged an appeal against Essex Police’s request to obtain emails. What is contained in those emails could push the CPS decision one way or the other.

This won’t be in front of a judge until January 20…

The last of the despised killer bendy-buses is off the streets of London and Guido understands that the first new Routemaster will be on the streets next week. Boris actually promised in his manifesto to put the new bus on the road before the end of his first term. There was much scepticism that the cleaner-greener and, according to the experts, most advanced bus in the world, would see the light of day before Boris has to face the voters next year.

It’s an electric bus (it uses a small diesel engine to generate electricity, when it is needed) and is twice as economical as a conventional double decker at 11.6 miles to the gallon compared to the killer bendies 4.5 miles to the gallon. Boris buses following on from Boris bikes are visible signs of success. Cameron, who promised so much in his manifesto, might be a little discomforted by such an eye-catching public service advance.

Chris Blackhurst is bragging in spin-trade-mag PR Week how the Indy (circulation 133,449) is ’flying the flag’ for British journalism by, err, re-publishing someone else’s story on lobbying. It could have been very different. Instead of the Indy editor basking in the reflected glory of his paper publishing the grandiosely named Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s scoop on dodgy lobbyists, he could so easily have been the one undone.

Back in 2005 when Blackhurst was The Standard’s business editor, Chris had lunch with two board members of spin merchant’s Weber Shandwick. He asked them for advice on moving into PR. Effectively, alas unsuccessfully, pitching himself as spinner…

UPDATE: A co-conspirator calls to say that the BIJ did shop the story around to a few places before flogging it to the Indy.

Another day and another good secret camera sting. This time it’s the Telegraph catching out exam board officials briefing teachers, for cash, what will be in the exams in order for their pupils to up their grades. Nearly every other paper has picked up the scoop, except one. The FT…

It’s not their education correspondent Chris Cook’s ongoing grudge against Gove that is the issue this time, instead the answer lies significantly above his pay grade. Pearson PLC who own the FT also owns Edexcel – one of the the exam boards named in the Telegraph story. Move along people, nothing to see here…