Making excuses

A first in English Literature at York University might just outrank Paxman's degree performance, but last night a simple question of "when did you know ?" was sufficient for Chloe Smith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, to flounder hopelessly on Newsnight over the petrol tax u-turn.  Today, many are questioning why Chancellor George Osborne let her out on her own to face the media. More worrying - who was minding her ?  If a sensible human being had listened to her previous interviews on the same topic with Eddie Mair on PM, and Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4 News, they surely would have found a decent reason to avoid a Paxo stuffing.