Last night saw the fourth grovelling mea culpa from ‘Dr’ Eoin Clarke, and it was perhaps his best yet. Guido’s favourite Irish feminism historian was once again forced to “apologise wholly and unreservedly” this time to “Virgin Care, its employees, subsidiaries and service users, as well as my readers, for writing over 46 blog entries that contained false, inaccurate and defamatory statements”. Ouch…

Surely no Labour MP would be stupid enough to read something on the good doctor’s blog and quote it, almost verbatim, in the House of Commons? Step forward Debbie Abrahams, Andy Burnham’s PPS. At PMQs on 24th October, Abrahams asked David Cameron:

“Can the Prime Minister explain the relationship between Virgin Care donations to the Tory party, the number of Virgin Care shareholders on clinical commissioning group boards and the number of NHS contracts that have been awarded to Virgin Care?”

Where could she possibly have got the inspiration for her question? Last night Clarke had to admit that “Virgin Care has NOT made donations to a political party” and “Virgin Care does NOT have hundreds of “sleeper cells” in Clinical Commissioning Groups”. As we went to pixel Abrahams’ offices were not answering their phones, and her re-tweet of Clarke praising her question was mysteriously deleted this morning:

Will she also be issuing an apology and retraction?