Oh dear, not a good day for Francis Maude. It started off with his links to a porn company being exposed and it ended with him telling fibs on taxes to the Evening Standard.

He was trying to explain Cameron’s refusal to commit himself to tax cuts. He told the Evening Standard:

 ”You will look in vain through three Thatcher manifestos for any commitment to cut taxes.”

Being the sort of person who has a copy of the 1979 Conservative manifesto to hand, I turn to page 13, unlucky for some:

“We shall cut income tax at all levels.”

Oh dear.