Hain was recently overheard saying “Phil needs to grow up”…

Looks like the decline and fall of Phil Taylor is permanent.

Meantime Hain is scaremongering on the campaign trail that the Tories could be back in government in Wales. Now this Thursday is going to be bad for Labour, but not that bad…

Has anyone seen John Reid’s attack dog, Steve Bates, lately? He wasn’t seen in the Westminster Arms today. Maybe he is deep in discussion with Simon Wren?

Guido wonders how John Reid’s media advisers managed to keep a straight face issuing that statement yesterday. Perhaps the police looking into the source of the leak should start here?

Peter Hain’s former Special Adviser, Phil Taylor, who resigned or took unpaid leave from Hain’s office (the story changes) to ‘run’ the perma-tanned boy-racer’s deputy leadership campaign has quit the campaign.

Taylor and Hain parted company last week due ‘irreconcilable differences’. Hain didn’t agree with Taylor’s advice which contradicted the advice of the individual actually employed to run the campaign, Steve Morgan. Taylor had a tantrum, threatened to leave, Hain suggested he do so forthwith. Hain showed little loyalty or gratitude – given that presumably Phil Taylor sacrificed any pay-off as a SpAd when he volunteered to work on Hain’s campaign for free?

Taylor is currently looking for work, although without any success.

Robert Philpot, director of Progress and editor of their magazine has just been appointed as the new SpAd to Peter Hain, replacing the departed cheating Phil Taylor.

All his hard work turning an admirably Blairite organisation into a Hain journal has clearly paid off. It was the articles like this from Peter Hain – which Guido would not be surprised to discover was ghosted by or had some input from Philpot himself, that got him the job

Shame he won’t be able to play any part in the boss’s campaign now he’s in a politically restricted, taxpayer-paid post…

Cheating Phil Taylor, Peter Hain’s SpAd, campaigned for his boss at the taxpayer’s expense and against the rules. He told Guido last Thursday that he had already told the permanent secretary he was resigning*, he even had the audacity to explain that this noble sacrifice would cost him his SpAd termination payment. On Friday he changed his mind and was telling people he was only taking unpaid leave.

WELSH Secretary Peter Hain’s top advisor has quit amid political gossip that he had been campaigning for his boss to become Labour’s Deputy Leader.

Phil Taylor, who advises Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Hain on devolution issues across the water, is to step down from his position to concentrate on his boss’ race for the number two position.

Mr Taylor asked for unpaid leave on Thursday, the same day a political gossip website claimed Mr Taylor had already been involved in the campaign.

As a taxpayer-funded civil servant, this would have broken Cabinet Office rules. Special advisors are not allowed to get involved in leadership battles.

The Northern Ireland Office has confirmed Mr Taylor’s departure.

Mr Taylor said: “It is true that I intend to leave at the end of the month which is when we hope to have a devolved government in place at Stormont. I have been asked to help out in the campaign and that is what I will do.”

Guido has been calling Phil for clarification to no avail so just in case he isn’t picking up his email either, here are the questions:

1. On Thursday you told Guido you had already informed the permanent secretary that you intended to resign and that this sacrifice would cost you your termination payment, how did this on Friday become you were taking unpaid leave at the end-of-the-month?
2. According to reports, you only told the permanent secretary of your intention last Thursday, when you knew Guido was trying to contact you – when did you formally tell the permanent secretary?
3. Guido has been given a number of Hain4Labour campaign documents that place you at various locations at various times. Guido is confident that it will be found through FoI requests that you were not on leave. Do you have any explanation?

Yesterday he told Guido that he was resigning, that he had told the permanent secretary he was intending to resign and that he had already emailed his NIO colleagues telling them of his intentions. His trembling voice told Guido that as a result he’d be sacrificing his termination pay-off. Today he is telling people he is only taking unpaid leave at the end of the month.

When Guido finally tracked down the elusive cheating Phil Taylor, he told Guido that it was already his intention to resign, that he had informed the permanent secretary that he was intending to resign and that it didn’t therefore matter. He was going to work on his boss’ campaign and had emailed the rest of the NIO that he was going already. Yeah right, still not quite sure that is good enough.

This of course means he will miss out on a fat termination pay-off. So he won’t be able to bleed the taxpayer another drop.

Just as well he has resigned because Guido has masses of evidence that he has been campaigning for Peter Hain. He would have had to go anyway.

No ifs, no buts, we’re targeting SpAd cheats. Call the national Shop-a-SpAd hotline on 0709 284 0531 or fax evidence to 0709 201 2337.

UPDATE : The SpAdless perma-tanned one is on Question Time tonight. What has happened to your SpAd Peter?

Guido asked readers this morning to watch out for breaches of the Ministerial Code by SpAds working for Labour deputy leadership candidates. A few tips have come in and a co-conspirator has even sent Guido documentary evidence of blatant SpAd cheating. In fact a SpAd fiddle plan. So be warned SpAd cheat, have your lunch and expect Guido to call for an explanation soon…

No ifs, no buts, we’re targeting SpAd cheats. Call the national Shop-a-SpAd hotline on 0709 284 0531 or fax evidence to 0709 201 2337.

UPDATE 16:00 : We have a SpAd missing-in-action and presumably on the run. Seems unable to answer his mobile all afternoon, do you think he knows Guido is on to him?

As the Labour party’s leadership campaign gets underway it is important to remind the bag carrying, greasy pole climbers about the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

It can be found on the Propriety and Ethics section of the Cabinet Office website – not something that most of them will be familiar with. The code is clear, they can’t assist in any way in a leadership campaign unless they are on leave. Catch a SpAd organising a campaign meeting on the office phone, via the office Blackberry or merely pinning on a “my boss for deputy leader” badge during office hours and they are in breach. This could provide Guido’s conspirators with a lot of fun.

So if you spot a SpAd in the Portcullis coffee shop making the case for votes for their boss, you know what to do. Call the national Shop-a-SpAd hotline on 0709 284 0531.