Poor Gordon Brown

I had a pretty keen dislike of Gordon Brown long before it was popular or profitable to hold the Prime Minister in low regard, but it’s now obvious that the time for anger or disappointment or fury has passed. The only humane response to the Prime Minister’s predicament is pity. The grotesque, trumped-up, “row” over the Prime Minister’s hand-written letters to the widows and mothers of fallen servicemen is sickening.

The British press corps has rarely been known for its sense of decorum or restraint, but there come moments when legitmate criticism crosses some kind of line and becomes bullying. This is one such instance. Clearly it’s regrettable that the Prime Minister’s letter to Jacqui Janes contained a number of spelling mistakes. Clearly too, there are legitimate questions that may be asked over the government’s Afghan policy and the way the war has been conducted. But using grieving mothers and widows as astick with which to beat the government is not, shall we say, an edifying or ennobling sight.