The return of Tory Sleaze?

The BBC have been playing the Tory sleaze card very strongly over the last week and tonight's Newsnight is really on the attack against Caroline Spelman for allegedly paying an aupair, 10 years ago, from her House of Commons expenses. This is being treated as as the most serious matter by a BBC desperate to throw as much dirt as possible at the sleazy Tories and so help the beleaguered Gordon Brown.

Oddly the BBC seem less exercised by the news in The Mailthat Tony Blair may have had a 300% mortgage on his constituency home, Myrobella and then borrowed even more:

"In fact, at virtually no cost to themselves, the couple has made a paper profit of at least £210,000 on the property (its estimated value of £300,000 today, less the £90,000 loan they took out) - all thanks to loans of up to £200,000 from the public purse.

It must be stressed that there is nothing illegal in this, but for a couple who were earning in the region of £300,000 a year - from the prime ministerial salary and Cherie's QC work and lectures - it is hard not to conclude that the Blairs have reaped a rich harvest from the MPs' mortgage payments expenses system."

Tory sleaze is of interest to the BBC, Labour sleaze shhhhhh