After dipping his toe into the blogging world on key occasions this year, Damian McBride has created plenty of ripples. Speculation has been spreading that the disgraced Brown spinner was touting for a book deal by giving us a glimpse of what such a tome would be like. Needless to say there have already been offers, which do not come as a suprise to anyone who has read his illuminating posts.

McBride denies he is interested though and says he has rejected deals.

Guess he will have to stick to the blogging.

Guido could use the competition…

This week 83,535 visitors visited 263,976 times viewing 446,335 pages. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• Laurie Penny versus Starkey Video
• Video: Paxman Mauls Chloe Smith on Newsnight
• Exclusive: Gordon Disputes Times’s Story
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• A Co-Conspirator Writes…
• Lord Sugar Reveals Gordon Brown Shouting Matches
• PM’s Official Spokesman Misled Lobby About Guido Story
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You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

This week 84,598 visitors visited 269,736 times viewing 445,123 pages. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• Assange in London Ecuadorian Embassy Seeking Asylum
• Exclusive: Leveson Loses It Over Mail on Sunday Front Page
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• Carr: I’m Amoral and I Have Osborne in my Pocket
• Shadow Schools Minister Kevin Brennan Fails Maths Test
• Carr in Reverse: Jimmy Says He’s Done With Dodging

You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

Labour are getting worked up over claims made by Political Scrapbook that Boris Johnson had secret dinner  in January 2011 with Rupert Murdoch just two days before the phone hacking investigation was launched. Their City Hall cronies have jumped on the bandwagon, insisting: “this is extremely serious, for the Mayor to not declare a meeting with Rupert Murdoch at the height of the phone-hacking crisis is truly scandalous”. Indeed, it would be scandalous and a great scoop, if it was actually the case. However, rather embarrassingly, a Boris spokesman points to the fact that the information has been on the Mayor’s website for nearly a year. Oh dear…

UPDATE: At the time of going to pixel the Indy are claiming they could not open the link provided to them by City Hall. Seems fine in the Guy Newsroom…

UPDATE II: The Beeb are covering this, but seem to have missed this quote from a Boris spokesman: “Details of the meetings have been published on Mayor’s website for the best part of a year.”

This week 87,396 visitors visited 340,137 times viewing 563,060 pages. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• Sally Bercow Strips Off on Barbados Booze Schmooze
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You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

This week 89,714 visitors visited 219,561 times viewing 344,094 pages. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• End of Piers’ Show
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• Piers Morgan Police Interview Transcripts Leaked to Newsweek

You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

When he gave evidence to Leveson back in May Tom Watson swore, on oath, that he had nothing to do with lefty blog Political Scrapbook. Guido was particularly interested in Tom’s denial that he had ever passed a story onto the Scrapbook team:

Watson: “I know the guy, the young guy that runs it. I have no relationship with it in terms of management or anything else.”

Jay: “Have you provided information to them for their use?”

Watson: “No.”

Guido quickly pointed out that this was nonsense. This morning Watson tweeted about a chapter that Jubilee stewarding boss Molly Prince wrote for Robin Barratt’s book Bouncers and Bodyguards, highlighting her past indiscretions:

The chapter by Molly Prince is illuminating: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184… In her words:"he is a fuck-up who will get his just rewards".—
  (@tom_watson) June 08, 2012

A few minutes later Scrapbook posted quotes from the book, of which Watson clearly has a copy. Guido is sure this is nothing more than a happy coincidence…

This week 111,441 vistors visted 331,629 times viewing 510,557 pages. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• VIDEO: Craig Oliver Rages at BBC’s Norman Smith
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You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

Hot weather and recess saw a mere 87,952 visitors make 251,060 visits to view 380,506 pages last week. The top stories in order of popularity were:

• Chris Grayling Squirms Over Ann Summers
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• Huhne’s Bi-Sexual Lover Loses Court Case
• Leaky Watson

You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…

If his rapidly fading smug smile was anything to go by, Tom Watson got a much tougher ride at Leveson than he was expecting. He was probed about McBride and Smeargate, denying any knowledge of a plan to counter Guido, despite the Red Rag website actually being set up. He was also cornered on leaking and again denied, on oath, that he leaked information from the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee to the Guardian. That will clear  up the  mystery around them getting hold of all sorts of evidence before anyone else then. He was forced to answer yes to the next question though – of course he was feeding Nick Davies.

Watson was also asked about his relationship with Political Scrapbook. He denied, unprompted, to being “part of the management”, or indeed ever feeding them information. Which is odd given a simple Google search pulled up this glaring example:

“Tom Watson will in a few moments use parliamentary privilege to publicly expose details of a notorious murder inquiry allegedly blocked by News International.”

Information reaching the media before Parliament? How did that come about? The website also carries a very prominent advert for Watson’s book and is funded by the his allies at the GMB Union….