"When asked about the affair last night, a Downing Street source said: ‘This is not something we can talk about.’"

but it nevertheless makes for a terrific headline:

No 10 rocked by secret love affair: 'Stunned' PM holds crisis talks over fears tryst will 'blow political agenda out of the water'

and such a shame that underneath said headline sits:-


NEW For legal reasons, The Mail on Sunday cannot disclose the identities of the people involved or any details of the relationship - even its duration - other than that they are middle-aged figures. The affair has now concluded.

And to give them their due, the Mail through the scribing skills of Glen Owen then devotes 783 words to explaining that it can tell you nothing about the secret love affair of the mystery middle aged persons in question other than it is now over.

UPDATE: there was an interesting comment naming possible names, which I promptly deleted as I don't want to get done for libel. Sorry about that.

UPDATE 2: The Mail has now reacted to the reaction to its "we can't tell you anything" tale with a Headline Change:-

Internet speculation rife over identity of mystery pair involved in No.10 secret love affair as PM holds crisis talks over tryst

Andrew Marr

For Orphans of Liberty.