Tom Harris - At last, an honest Labour MP (Smeargate).

Over the last twenty four hours, I've listened to what can only be described as some real lying scumbags trying to defend the indefensible.

Damian McBride still spinning and smearing at the death:

"Derek and I decided in the end that this website was the wrong thing to do, and that Derek should not take his online efforts down to the level of Guido Fawkes and his Tory backers. I have already apologised for the inappropriate and juvenile content of my emails, and the offence they have caused, but I did not want these stories in the public domain - it is because Paul Staines has put them there, and I am sickened that he has done so."

What a lying shitbag! The emails make it clear that they intended to publish their poison on the RED RAG blog. Guido does not have Tory Backers and McLyer knows this very well. However I am sure that he is sickened that the emails were made public - sickened that his disgusting tactics have been exposed.

And as for Derek "I wasn't lying on purpose" Draper, I never want to see the scruffy twisting shit on my TV ever again:

"It turns out somebody's hacked into my emails and now it's all over the newspapers. We're talking about a small piece of silliness - not a great big smear campaign."

"Not a great big smear campaign" - I think I'll let the contents of the emails speak for themselves Derek. And by all accounts these emails were given to Guido - not hacked. Is the real reason that you are so scruffy looking is that you can face yourself in the mirror without feeling the same disgust we do?

Then we have Liam Byrne MP:

"one private e-mail exchange between a couple of friends who were knocking backwards and forwards ideas. "Mr McBride, having scribbled this stuff, decided that the right place for it was the waste basket."

This was not "a couple of friends who were knocking backwards and forwards ideas", this was the Prime Ministers head of strategy and planning setting up a online smear campaign with an ex Labour spin doctor. Just out of interest, Derek Drapers Labourlist website was launched at Labour HQ.

And finally we have a breath of fresh air - Tom Harris MP:

So, yes, I can understand why the Tories would have preferred McBride to remain in post. But what on earth was Draper thinking when he told various media outlets yesterday that he didn’t think McBride should have had to resign?

But this isn’t about positioning or spinning or misdirection or whatever. This is about standards of political activity, standards which have fallen far, far below what is remotely acceptable, especially for someone working at the very heart of government.

We screwed up, big time. We have no-one — absolutely no-one at all — to blame for this but ourselves. The damage the Labour Party and the government have sustained this last 24 hours has been entirely self-inflicted.

And the people behind this sordid little mess owe everyone named in these emails a very public apology.

Well said Tom. Maybe there is some hope for the Labour party of the future.