One of my friends, who takes politics seriously and got certificates in it and everything, has often told me that once a politician answers a question, they’ve failed to manage the story. And once they issue a denial, they’ve really lost control and are way off message.

Now, I pretty much despise that that is accepted as a good thing; the background level of spin that is included in politics makes me want to strangle people with their own entrails. But he’s right; that standard is the one that politicians are judged by and it is by that standard that Brown is in the shit.

Britain’s top civil servant has said he did not confront Gordon Brown about “acting in a bullying or intimidatory manner” towards Downing Street staff.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell also said there was no need for an inquiry following newspaper stories about the PM’s treatment of colleagues.

The stories about young Gordon are endless, and the one that sticks the most seems to be that he tends to throw mobile phones at his underlings when he doesn’t get his way. Now, that may be made up, but it has stuck. And so for three days, Brown and his ever diminishing clique are having to issue denial after denial, and get others to issue more denials. Brown is NOT a bully. Brown is NOT violent. Brown NEVER hit any of his staff. Brown is NOT mental.

It’s hilarious, because when a politician spends so much time denying something, then most people start thinking that there’s smoke so there must be fire somewhere. If he keeps it up, then the NOTs and the NEVERs will just become silent to most people, and they’ll take ever subsequent denial as an admission of guilt.

Which amuses me somewhat.