1703: Peter Kellner, of the polling firm YouGov, says: "Those people who are fans of Gordon Brown will sympathise with him; those who don't like him will consider it a very bad thing. The question is the reaction of those in the middle... It may be that people will be absolutely appalled... But it may be that a lot of people will say he is a human, there is a lot of stress, isn't he allowed to say one thing to her in person, and then another in private?"
1713: Tony Blair's ex-spokesman Alastair Campbell writes about Gordon Brown's feelings following his remarks about Gillian Duffy being recorded and broadcast. He writes HREF="http://www.alastaircampbell.org/blog.php" ID="9999" STYLE="LINK_Inline">on his blog: "I saw him at his Manchester hotel, where we are preparing for tomorrow's debate, when he returned from Rochdale. To say he was mortified is an understatement. I don't think I have ever seen him so angry with himself. And he was angry less about the obvious frenzy he had unleashed than the fact that he said what he did. She was so clearly not a bigot, and he knew that."