Coulson easily handles his Leveson test

Andy Coulson’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry was a reminder of why he rose so quickly. He never said more than he had to and never let his ego interfere with his judgment. It is a testament to his skill that we essentially learnt nothing new from his evidence this afternoon.

But it should be remembered that Coulson wasn’t on that bad a wicket today. The Leveson Inquiry isn’t going to overlap with the criminal investigations going on and so there wasn’t much time spent on hacking or on payments to the police. Instead, the questions focused on his relations with politicians and Cameron and Osborne in particular. Helped by some leaden questioning from Robert Jay QC, Coulson got through this without too much difficulty.

Jay also failed to press him on the crucial issue of vetting. What did those doing it want to know about his time at the News of the World?

Perhaps, the biggest thing we learnt today is that Coulson isn’t yet ready — if he ever will be — to turn on either News International or the Conservatives.