Despite their self-confessed devoted readership of the blog, it turns out Patrick Mercer’s “office” aren’t fans. Guido’s brief chat with a familiarly bad-tempered voice answering Mercer’s phone this lunchtime didn’t go too well. Guido politely asked if Patrick would be repaying the money he has declared from Alistair Andrews Communications, to which came the curt reply:

“You’re certainly not going to get an answer from me. I think it’s best if we end this conversation now. Goodbye.”

Goodbye indeed…

Two weeks ago Dave’s key defence against Tory plotters, his relative popularity compared to the party, was wobbling. Today Peter Kellner has some figures that will have Downing Street breathing a collective sigh of relief. Ed is less popular than Labour, somehow Clegg is less popular than the LibDems, though Cameron is again preferred to his party. Kellner says this is the graph that shows the Tories will lose in 2015 if they ditch Dave…

Alistair Andrews Communications was the fictitious company created by the Telegraph and Panorama to string disgraced Tory MP Patrick Mercer. Its non-existent offices in Sydney and London and less-than-convincing website somehow duped Mercer, whose suspicions failed to be raised.

Deliciously, Mercer has just declared a £2,000 payment from Alistair Andrews Communications in his Register of Members Interests. Apparently he did two days’ “consultancy” work for them back in May. The fake name, fake Old Queen Street address and fake job all on official record. £2,000: the price to sting a corrupt MP…

The undercover reporters that Yeo fell for claimed to representatives of a cash-splashing company from South Korea, so his Seoul-searching getaway destination was an obvious choice. When he’s back he faces being deselected by his local association. South Suffolk Tory chairman Toby Kramers tells the Times he will grill Yeo, warning they may kick him out even if the Standards Commissioner lets him off the hook. He says he will be “guided by the opinions of colleagues and the rules of the party. Not every MP that’s deselected is hammered by the standards authorities”. Their confidence in the Standards Commissioner to get to the bottom of it all is telling…

After round one last year, sometime Cameron loyalist Peter Oborne accuses mischief-making Lord Ashcroft of treachery in an uncharacteristically forthright piece in the Telegraph. Citing twitter, polling and his alleged loathing of Lynton Crosby, Oborne calls for Dave to withdraw the whip:

Brutal stuff from Dave on Labour’s tax avoiding donor:

“It is this government that is putting aggressive tax avoidance at the heart of the G8 agenda, and what do we hear this week from the Labour Party? They give tax avoidance advice to their donors.”

His bluster was the only highlight of a dull PMQs, though this is utterly dishonest from the PM. Miliband might be in hot water here, though the truth is that all parties offer tax avoidance advice to their donors, Labour, the LibDems and the Tories. As Guido reported last summer, Cameron’s own legacy scheme helps donors “reduce or even remove completely” the inheritance tax liability of rich Conservative backers.

All parties advise donors on how to avoid tax on their donations. Dave is in no position to take the moral high ground. 

Readers will remember Guido’s campaign against Rob Morritt, the Wandsworth Tory councillor caught trousering some £50,000 in expense claims during his time as Justine Greening’s agent. Not only have the selection committee ruled that Morritt is not fit to be considered for selection at the next local elections, Guido understands that they have approved a motion of censure, leaving the thieving councillor with very few options. Guido’s source whispers:

“The decision was swift and unanimous. We are completely fed up with him. He has refused to resign, refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing and he acts like he has a God given right to political power. Despite all he has done, he was offered a way of going quietly and he threw it back in our faces. At last, we are taking a stand against him.”

Expect developments next week…

Holiday watch in yesterday’s Sun column. First up is hard man David Davis who ditched the chance to don his t-shirt and shorts on an Ibiza beach à la Dave, instead racing around in high-powered cars and shooting machine guns. The former TA man was visiting “old friends in Hereford” – the home to the SAS.

Meanwhile Eric Pickles has just got back from leading a business delegation to Kerala, India. Guido can confirm from personal experience that Kerala’s famous curries are the best in all of India, so could this explain the Minister responsible for local government’s 7,000 mile trip? When Guido asked Pickles he was having none of it, insisting that he was promoting exports; “I went to India to explain the benefits and beauty of the British balti”. Time well spent, Guido is sure…

Sky News are reporting that Tim Yeo has been reported to the Met. Here is the letter:

‘ello, ‘ello, Tim Yeo.

Number 10 haven’t taken Andrew Bridgen’s Brady letter too well. After Bridgen huffed:

“There is a credibility problem with the current leader. It’s like being in an aeroplane. The pilot doesn’t know how to land it. We can either do something about it or sit back, watch the in-flight movies and wait for the inevitable”

… he has now been summoned for a meeting with the Chief Whip. Presumably he’ll be asking them why they leaked his name to the press…