Out on the fringes of Phonehackgate ever since her twice told whopper – since corrected – has been Tory MP and author Louise Mensch, now taking a family break over in the USA. But any thought that being a few thousand miles from the action would be any guarantee of peace and quiet has been dispelled by Twitter, and the appearance of someone called David Jones.
Ms Mensch has been devoting regular attention to her growing array of Twitter followers, discussing things like Operation Motorman – about which this blog has already posted – and also disappointing the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines, who styles himself Guido Fawkes, by coming out unequivocally against capital punishment, and in any circumstances.
But it’s the entrance of David Jones, or someone using the name as an alias, that has caused the most interest to those keeping tabs on Ms Mensch. The name is familiar to anyone observing the behaviour of the obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre at the Daily Mail: Jones wrote the why-oh-why piece complaining about the weather last December which I roasted afterwards.
The David Jones enquiring after Louise Mensch, however, is someone else, as the Guardian’s Nicholas Watt has found, and he’s digging after Ms Mensch’s past, when she may have taken currently illegal drugs. This is truly yawn inducing: millions of folks across the UK indulge in these substances at least occasionally. Moreover, his assertion that she supports criminalisation of drug use is unproven.
And even if Ms Mensch did take this stance, it would be no more than disappointing – as I’ve argued many times, criminalisation is part of the problem, not the solution – and no different to scores of other MPs. Also, as she has now apologised to the appalling Piers Morgan, the enquiries will turn to the publication behind “David Jones”, if there is one.
Because any paper commissioning a dirt digging exercise on any member of the Commons culture committee right now – and especially Louise Mensch – is effectively admitting they would rather not be investigated over Phonehackgate, and Motorman, any further.
Put simply, they would be saying “look at us – we’re guilty as hell”.
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