Iain Dale is right, it is always difficult to comment over breaking news stories, but there are two eye-catching things about the Downing Street statement on the arrest of Damian Green, which Sky News is reporting here.
According to Sky, the word from Downing Street is this:
"This is a matter for the police...The Prime Minister had no prior knowledge of the arrest of Mr Green and was only informed after the event."
Two classic Brownisms here. First, the washing of one's hands of any involvement in a controversy if it seems that negative publicity might result, by saying it is in the hands of an outside quango/ agency/ the courts/ investigation/ report/ independent adjudicator/ study, etc (delete as appropriate). In this case, it is the police.
The second is this - there is a denial of involvement, but the denial relates only to a specific part of the chain of events, in this case, the actual arrest of Damian Green. There is no denial that the PM knew of the investigation or knew that a senior Conservative was allegedly involved. Important questions like whether the PM or other senior ministers gave a go ahead for action are not covered in the statement.
For the sake of our democracy, I would love to be proven wrong, and be shown that the PM genuinely knew nothing about the police action against Damian Green.
Let me give you just one recent example of how Brown's careful use of language can give rise to a misleading impression. At PMQs, the day after Barack Obama was elected, most MPs were given the impression that the PM had telephoned Obama and congratulated him. I spoke with a top newspaper political correspondent who was certain this was the case. This is what Brown actually said:
"Before I list my engagements, I am sure that the whole House will wish to join me in sending our sincere congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on winning the presidency of the United States and writing a new chapter in history in doing so. The bonds that unite the United States and the UK are vital to our prosperity and security and I know from talking to Senator Obama that he will be a true friend of Britain. The Government look forward to working with the new Administration as we both help people fairly through the downturn. I also want to pay tribute to Senator McCain, who has shown the characteristic dignity that has marked a lifetime of service to his country."
At the time, it sounded to most people that the "talking" he referred to was very recent - indeed, that is what is implied by using the present continuous tense, rather than saying "when I talked with Obama". In reality, Brown didn't speak with Obama for some time after, and was upstaged by Nicolas Sarkozy, much to our PM's chagrin.
The point is merely this - it is too early to tell what Brown knew or didn't, but experience shows one needs to study his words very carefully indeed before reaching any conclusions.
