I’m not quite sure whether to give Ed Balls marks for honesty, not a phrase one writes often, for admitting that he is still in contact with Damian McBride or to say that it shows that the Brownites are loyal to each other not to any set of ideals or standards of behaviour. Certainly, Balls’ answer is more honest than his infamous attempt on the Today Programme to claim that he didn’t really know McBride any better than anyone else who had worked with him did.
Ed Balls tells Gaby Hinsliff that he has ‘Of course not’ discussed policy with McBride. But then again as the Red Rag emails showed there wasn’t much policy involved in some of McBride’s political work.
PS Just for the record, here are the two answers that Brown has given at PMQs when asked if he has any contact with McBride:
Mr.
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