Mitchell Earl Hodge 1962-2006

I am very grateful for the kind comments on the previous post, but the reason this blog has been shut down for nearly a fortnight is because of the very untimely death of my American brother-in-law, Mitch Hodge, in a road accident near his home in Arizona on Good Friday.

Mitch was a super guy who was always great fun to be with and who I was proud to have as a member of my family. There were several local news reports on the accident that caused his death, but I won't link out to them because none of them came close to doing him justice.

My wife Gill and I flew out to Arizona last weekend to be with the family and attend his memorial service, held in a breathtaking open-air setting in the Verde Valley which he loved, surrounded by panoramic mountain views.

It was a suitable send-off for a man who loved life, loved the outdoors, and had a great gift for friendship. His employers, Creative Technology, have placed this tribute on the homepage of their website.

Time out

Apologies to anyone who's been here in recent days expecting to find the latest up-to-the-minute political analysis....but owing to a family bereavement I'm taking some time out and I will not be updating this blog again for a while. Normal service will be resumed in about 10-14 days I expect.

Till then,

Paul

Is this the smoking gun?

I think I might have spoken too soon in signing off for Easter. Today's story about the arrest of former Government adviser Des Smith could turn out to be one of the political stories of the decade.

It's also another triumph for Guido Fawkes who set out as long ago as 24 March why Mr Smith might be a fit subject for investigation, as they say at the Yard.

Why is it such a big deal? Because Mr Smith was involved in helping to recruit potential business sponsors for the establishment of specialist schools and city academies - one of Mr Tony's flagship policies.

If it is found that peerages were offered in return for such sponsorship, then this is a fuse that is going to lead straight back to Number 10.

Polly and Marina sock it to Milburn

Alan Milburn knew he wouldn't get much backing from the solidly Brownite Guardian in considering his potential leadership bid, but the former health secretary probably wasn't expecting this double whammy from columnists Polly Toynbee and Marina Hyde.

And there was me thinking that Milburn's appeal to women voters (and journalists) was one of his political strong points....