Who was there when IDS needed support? Not the Tory press

The Tories, we are told, are a party of unstable men who are genetically predisposed to plotting against their leader. I would certainly appreciate a learned piece on this subject from the Times’s esteemed medical correspondent, Dr Thomas Stuttaford. Perhaps when he has finished with the Tories he could turn his attention to his own paper. For if the Tories love to kill their leader, the Times loves to kill the leader of the Tory party. Under the editorship of Peter Stothard, the paper waged a fierce campaign against William Hague. Now it is gunning for Iain Duncan Smith. It seems that, no less than the Tories, senior journalists at the Times are only truly happy when they are trying to bring down the leader of the Conservative party.

I do not deny that there is a case to be made against IDS, though it has been difficult not to be impressed by the way in which he has attempted a rearguard action over the past few days.