Here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into Harriet

Over at The Three Line Whip, Andrew Porter notes how Gordon Brown distanced himself at PMQs from Harriet Harman’s disgraceful praise for the former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Porter reports that her comments about Castro are not the only thing that Harman has said recently that have irritated Number 10. Indeed, if she was not effectively un-sackable one would begin to wonder about her position.

I have a pet theory that many of Brown’s problems can be traced back to Harman’s election as deputy leader. If Alan Johnson had got the job, there would have been someone in the Cabinet who would have had license to stand up to Brown and to throw cold water on Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander as they got over excited about the prospect of an early election.