Don’t know why or if he even has somewhere to go, but source is reliable.   Maybe Iain is too Conservative leaning for the newspaper’s political team.  The political team has just been strengthened by importing Ben Brogan from the Daily Mail.  On the other hand it has been weakened by the loss of contributing editor Damian McBride, who supplied stories to the chief copy-taker, Andrew Porter.

Guido is also all too well aware that there are internal recriminations at The Telegraph over how it has handled Smeargate.  The Guardian this morning is reporting something of the story.  The Telegraph’s official line is that they aren’t bothered, a TMG spokesperson told the Guardian “As you might imagine, we did not entirely buy [Guido’s] version of events. But we are relaxed about it, to be honest.”

Well perhaps they might like to explain their version of events after everyone has seen this:

From : Christopher Hope
To : Guy Fawkes

Date : Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 6:09 PM
subject :  Non-disclosure agreement
mailed-by telegraph.co.uk

…This is to confirm that we, the Telegraph Media Group, are happy to give you our assurance that anything that you show to us tomorrow (April 3) will be in confidence, for our information, and will not be published in any form without your explicit and prior agreement.

Yours sincerely

Christopher Hope
Whitehall Editor
The Daily Telegraph
111 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 0DT

As far as Guido is concerned they have behaved abysmally. They tipped off Downing Street with details of a politically serious story, publishing a spoiler that might as well have had Damian McBride’s byline (it didn’t mention him), they then alone of any newspaper in the world published a hatchet job of a profile. So if you are a source with an important political story, best you give the Telegraph a wide swerve.  They can’t be trusted.  They are likely betray your confidence and reveal you as the source…

UPDATE : Iain Martin has not responded to Guido’s emailed request for comment. So read into that what you will. Also have just noticed that Michael Ellam told the Lobby in the first briefing in the aftermath of Smeargate that the first Downing Street knew about Smeargate was when they were contacted on Friday night (by “national press” aka The Telegraph.)