Day five of the "Smear-gate" saga.
Guido saved the story for what would otherwise have been a slow news bank holiday weekend, but could anyone have imagined that it would still be front page news in the middle of the following week?
The reason why it is still in the headlines, of course, is that Gordon Brown failed to do enough to shut the story down at the earliest opportunity.
When McBride went on Saturday afternoon, Brown could have summoned a TV crew to wherever he happened to be there and then in order to make an apology on camera. The story would have been all over the Sunday papers, but it would not have attracted anything like as many column inches into this week as it has.
Instead, an insufficient statement of regret was issued in Brown's name, followed then by insufficient letters of regret - all the while allowing the Tories and the media to continue demanding a proper apology (not to mention giving a parade of Labour figures the opportunity to go on air to settle some old scores).
That proper apology from Brown has still not been forthcoming, and until he delivers one to a television camera, he will not be allowed to move on.
I blame his chief adviser. Oh, sorry, I forgot - he had to resign, didn't he?
