First Mercer, now Yeo – isn’t it time politicians tried to entrap journalists?

Now that it has become commonplace for the press to entrap MPs and peers, why don’t our legislators try to turn the tables?

I suggest that ministers sidle up to journalists (secretly filming them the while) and offer them honours. They should hint that the honour is conditional on favourable coverage, and agree to meet again in six months. In between, they should track what the journalists write, and then, when they have trapped their victims, expose the pattern.

Another trick would be for politicians to get friends to pretend to be businessmen offering journalists money or freebies to place products in their stories and features. These tactics would get interesting results.

The latest Sunday Times sting can be read here (£). This is an extract from Charles Moore’s Spectator’s Notes in this week’s magazine. Click here to subscribe to the Spectator.