The irony is exquisite, Damian McBride is hurt that supposed friends are briefing about his private life:

Hmmm, an old colleague is feeding stories to the Sunday tabloids about my past private life. It's a good job I'm no longer a vengeful soul.

— Damian McBride (@DPMcBride) September 21, 2013

When you're steeped in anonymous briefings, you can read the source instantly, however clever or careful they think they're being.

— Damian McBride (@DPMcBride) September 21, 2013

A brilliant story from the Mail that, no doubt because of the lawyers, is missing the basic who, when and where? The other question that arises, in the party from which Ed Miliband told us this morning he has banned anonymous briefing, is who briefed the story to the Mail? Cui bono?

Anyway here is a reminder of the female ministers from that 2003 – 2009 era, Dawn Primarolo, Margaret Beckett, Patricia Scotland, Harriet Harman, Ruth Kelly, Beverly Hughes, Hazel Blears, Jacqui Smith, Yvette Cooper, Caroline Flint, Melanie Johnson, Jane Kennedy, Gisela Stuart, Rosie Winterton, Maria Eagle, Anne McGuire, Baroness Ashton, Baroness Morgan, Meg Munn, Barbara Follet, Kitty Ussher, Baroness Taylor, Baroness Glenys Kinnock and Shriti Vadera. My guess is you can rule out the Blairites…