The chief author and advocate of the Equalities Bill has released a consultation paper recommending that MPs should continue to be allowed to employ husbands, wives and lovers, but not their children. Isn’t that ageist?

she actually froze and couldn’t find a way out of the hole she was digging herself into… Harman was rather desperately searching for some witty rejoinder and ended up blurting out the first thing that came into her head. I do find it incredible–considering all the press speculation in recent days – that Harman didn’t arrive with a pre-prepared line to use if the leadership came up.

Looking at the video she was stumped by Hague’s head-on jibe. She floundered and put her foot in her mouth using a suggestion first made by co-conspirators here. Perhaps she will support a third runway for Heathrow after all…

The insider panel on Politics Home agrees – two-thirds reckon she is positioning herself. Lets see if she does well at PMQs today. If she cheers the Labour benches it will put some oomph in her covert campaign. Guido’s top tip to those briefing Dave William today – every now and then even a Grand National winning champion jockey holds back, today would be a good day. Gordon will not be amused when he finds out…

UPDATE : Fathers4Justice campaigners are back on the roof of her house again.

A co-conspirator reminds Guido that it was the Fink himself who foresaw the potential for Harriet back in May. Elsewhere in pundit land Jackie Ashley makes a pretty uncoded call on the sisterhood in the Guardian:

In nine decades, we’ve seen just one female prime minister, one female foreign secretary and one female home secretary…. It’s easy to dismiss the presence of more than 100 women MPs on those green benches for the last 11 years…Only this week we have seen the new equalities bill in parliament, piloted by Harriet Harman…it’s quite normal to see women up there at the centre of power without batting an eye…

Yes, but Guido gets the wink and the nod Jackie. Andrew Gimson in the Labourgraph urges her on subtly “Harriet Harman should go for Labour leadership“. The Mail paints her as a “stand in” PM. The great she-pundit Polly ominously says “face-change at the top” may be coming. Wonder which face she has in mind…?

Tomorrow is Harriet’s chance to shine at PMQs. C’mon Harriet…

UPDATE : Comrade Dale has spotted her lunching with Jack Straw.

It has really come to something when Harriet Harman taking control of the country seems like a good idea. Guido really does believe we have a psychologically flawed prime minister lacking a strong grasp of reality. Gordon is an embarrassing disaster, the government is paralysed, ministers basically just want him to go, backbench MPs want him to go, Labour Party activists want him to go, Labour voters think he is a crap PM. He has led his party to its lowest point in history. He is the most despised PM since polling began. Gordon Brown is just no good. Harriet can’t be worse. Can she?

Mike Smithson has put money on her, The Times and the Daily Mail say she is discreetly taking soundings. If Glasgow falls can she find the support of 70 MPs or perhaps a majority of Labour Party members at the September party conference? She might, the situation is that dire…

As the government contemplates a law to criminalise “reckless” losses of data it is worth reflecting on the sophisticated data security employed by Harriet Harman to prevent hacking of her blog:

The hacker also tells Guido that he used “log-less multiple proxies” – which are the internet equivalents of dead drops. Apparently.

UPDATE Sunday : Adam Boulton asked Harman on Sky if the story above was true (Adam, how could you doubt?) she sheepishly confirmed it to be the case.

Her website is also currently announcing her defection to the Conservatives. Guido thought it was a spoof site at first. In fact it appears she has been taking online security lessons from Grant Shapps. Her real website appears to have been “improved” overnight. Nice touch thanking Guido for knocking Hain out of the race…

This is the spoof site. They seem to be remarkably well informed about the hack of the real site. Maybe they swapped Harriet some chocolate for her password…

UPDATE 09.05 : Guido called Harman’s parliamentary office for a comment. No answer. Well they do keep public sector hours so perhaps someone will get back to Guido before lunch. Meantime you can leave a comment, and many of you have already…

UPDATE 09.10 : The hacker has contacted Guido to tell him that the passwords have been changed. Harman is now locked out of her own website.

Recess Monkey admits that Labour MPs and activists are resigned to witnessing horrific and possibly brutal cruelty at PMQs today.

So let’s get the popcorn in and sit back and enjoy the show…

UPDATE : Fantastic comedy value and very entertaining. She gave Hague as good as she got. Guido would go as far as to say she did very well. Better than Prescott ever did at PMQs against Hague…

*Guido of course abhors unnecessary cruelty to advertisers seals, but he does wonder what they taste like…

Is Guido the only one who is amused that Anne Darwin is using the “Harman Defence”. Claiming that she took the unlawfully obtained money “in good faith”. If Harman wants to run to Panama, Guido will happily pay for a ticket…

Guido knows how skint Harriet is so he wants to do his bit to help tonight. Leg it on down for 7.30pm to the Fox on the Hill, 149 Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, SE5 8EH. For only a mere £10 contribution to the buffet, you can help her out. Now Harriet, don’t forget if it does make a profit to register the money this time.

A bit of a come down after the cancelled swanky champagne and canapes fund-raiser party she planned for yesterday in a West End nightclub. Times are hard…