Andy Coulson Needs Better Defenders

He also needs more of them. Of course Labour are hyping the Coulson Affair to the maximum. Any opposition party would. As tends to be the case in such stories it’s useful, I think, to ask how you’d feel if it was all the other way round. If this were a story about Alastair Campbell many of those defending Coulson (or just keeping quiet) would be demanding his resignation and, equally, many of those Labour MPs agitating for Coulson’s dismissal would be silent if this were a Labour scandal.

So, yes, this is more about politics than principle. (And about the New York Times vs the Wall Street Journal.) Nevertheless, the principle matters too. Iain Dale says that Coulson is “bloody good at his job” and his accusers can all “go to hell” and anyway:

Coulson took responsibility for the episode at the time and resigned. What do they want him to do – resign a second time from a job which has nothing to do his previous incarnation?