The news that Neil Wallis was informally advising Andy Coulson without the knowledge of
any of the other senior figures in the Tory party is a reminder of just how dysfunctional the Tory party machine was pre-election. It is also an indication of the license that Coulson was afforded.
The Tories cannot say if anyone else offered Coulson this kind of ‘informal advice’.
The Tories are stressing that they did not pay Wallis or his company. But it is a massive embarrassment for the Tory party that two people who did work for it in its preparations for the election have now been arrested by the police.
I expect Cameron will face hard questions from Tory MPs about this matter when he appears before the ’22 committee. There are understandable worries among Tory backbenchers about the reputational damage being done to the party by its links to this scandal.
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