It must be bad for Gordon.

Things must be bad for Gordon when the local rag, the Press and Journal, has a story like this in the paper. As Nicola Barry says

Apologies have to be spontaneous to be worth anything. The successful apology requires empathy, the strength to admit fault, failure and weakness. The real success of an apology lies in its delivery. So many people say “Sorry” thenfollow it with “Actually, you see . . .”, which is not a real apology but along, rambling justification for whatever you did or said.

Famously the P&J was supposed to be so parochial that it reported the Titanic sinking as "North East Man dies at Sea.

The Fourth Estate really is waking up to Gordon Brown. Maybe this will be McBride's lasting legacy.

For our politicians, sorry really is the hardest word - Press & Journal