Gordon is back in Rochdale to apologise in person to Mrs Duffy. He has already called her. If anything this is starting to fuel the story and you would hope they have cleared that she won’t go for his throat before he got in the car. Returning to scene of the crime? Something tells Guido this might all go very wrong again. The baying media scrum is waiting with baited breath…

UPDATE: After forty minutes Brown emerges having grovelled to Mrs Duffy, who refused to come out with him. She is also refusing to talk to the press and the Labour spinners were unable to confirm whether she had accepted the Prime Mentalist’s apology.

Why on earth was he smiling?