Tories dump the trusty sword of truth to deny jailbird Aitkin is advising them...

Convicted criminal Jonathan Aitkin returning to the Tory fold to advise on prison reform raised eyebrows this week. So I had to laugh at Edward Garnier MP today trying to put blue water between the Tory Party and his former colleague (to be clear, they were colleagues on the Tory benches in the House of Commons in the Thatcher/Major years, not fellow lags in HMP Belmarsh of course!)

Mr Garnier, MP for Harborough, Leicestershire, was on the East Midlands edition of the BBC Politics Show and couldn't help jumping on a comment about former Tory high-flier Jonathan Aitkin now advising the Tory Party.

"Not the Tory Party, the Centre for Social Justice," says Mr Garnier, as if there was no relationship between the two - and not wishing to be reminded that Aitkin served time at Her Majesty's Pleasure for perjury...

Writing in today's Sunday Times, on Aitkin himself trying to make the same distinction, journalist Rosie Millard says:

What humbug: Duncan Smith is a former Conservative leader...the Centre for Social Justice advises David Cameron on social issues, does it not? I’d say that’s rather near the hot spot of Tory influence.

And I'd say you don't need a trusty sword of truth to know that's a fair cop...

Now, what were those famous Aitkin words again...

"If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of honesty, then so be it..."

Did you see the LibDem leadership duo squabbling on live TV...? UPDATED

LibDem leadership hopefuls Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne apparently squabbled like kids when they came head-to-head on today BBC's Politics Show on BBC1...

Missed the spat myself as I was on the way back from the national Labour Students conference in Grantham where I was honoured again to be a speaker...

I caught the end of the Politics Show, when presenter Jon Sopel says if you want to see today's broadcast, including the Clegg-Huhne fallout, go the the Politics Show website.

I just have done, but frustratingly the 'see again' feature hasn't yet been updated and still repeats last week's Politics Show...Very annoying.

Did anyone see it...is it worth repeating?

UPDATE: The clip is now on the BBC site and they go at each other like rats in a sack: Huhne accuses Clegg of 'flip floppery', trying to face both ways, allegations that Clegg is a 'calamity' and Clegg fighting to defend himself.

Less than edifying, and certainly fiercer than anything we ever saw between the two Davids - Steel and Owen - when the Libs had two leaders, and a rare but real insight behind internal tensions and disunity in today's LibDem party...

Who said come back Ming Campbell or Chas Kennedy...?