Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick
There is nothing he needs to apologise for, he owes you nothing, he owes me nothing. The only reason this story has carried on is because of the media obsession, nothing else. But you knew that already.  |
The debate was - would an apology have shut the story down. Not whether one was required by us.
My belief - which I understand is shared by many Conservative MPs - is that it would have done.
A lack of an apology meant the story dragged over into the weekend. It also led to the Rose Garden press briefing. This increased interest in the story again as we saw a behind-the-scenes adviser speak, which is unusual. Then we heard the Barnard Castle explanation. This fuelled interest even more as the public reacted adversely.