What a bloody disgrace. Does this kind of thing really still sell newspapers? In the 21st century? Are people really that lacking in their own lives? What the hell has this got to do with anyone except Oaten and his family (including two daughters who have to go to school tomorrow)? What Oaten did was wrong, yes. But within the confines of his marriage. To say he’s been politically naive is an understatement but that’s not a hanging offence yet either.

It seems Oaten has enough problems without the moral adjudicators of a Murdoch newspaper stirring the pot. I suppose, however, we should credit the editor of the News of the World with not patronising his readers. He must, after all, be just about the only person in the country to think that his readers would know who Mark Oaten is. I bet most of them picked up the paper this morning and thought little Mark from Take That had been outed. And then turned to see what Sven’s been up to this week.

And like Nosemonkey says, it’s the use of language that sickens as well. “Rent boy”. The rest of the media dutifully fell into line. I suppose “male prostitute” was considered too politically correct as well as failing to add the strong dash of tawdry prurience that this story demands. It didn’t conjure up the right amount of homophobic revulsion.

None other than Guido Fawkes himself is claiming Oaten’s corpse. He says he outed Oaten in a drunken podcast that made its way as far as that august journal of public morality, Popbitch. He also gives some self-serving, arse-covering excuse about Oaten having been hypocritical over the Government’s plans for prostitution. If this is the kind of thing bloggers need to do to get noticed then I for one want no part of it. And if this turns out to be the first stripe British bloggers earn (”British bloggers claim first scalp”), it will have been scrawled with a turd.

UPDATE: Tim Ireland has a partial transcript of Guido Fawkes’ and Recess Monkey’s podcast. You can make up your own mind but I think reveals them as sniggering little homophobes who like to conflate homosexuality with paedophilia. I’m prepared to be put right on that naturally.

Both of them have left comments on this post attempting to explain themselves.

UPDATE: So there we have it. I’ve heard the famous podcast.

Once you get past the fact it sounds like two O-level Politics students having their first pint (ie, it’s sweary rubbish available on a myriad of blogs, including this one), the stuff about Oaten is, as Tim Ireland says, cracks about Oaten looking like a paedophile tempered with innuendo about Simon Hughes’ sexuality (he’s got a friend called Dorothy, apparently). All very childish, all very grotty but, in the end, it was The Screws wot done it. As Guido says in the comments below, a new podcast is out on Wednesday. I’ll leave to you to decide why he’d see the need to jump on the NOTW’s coat-tails.

…

Max Hastings: It’s simpler to damn a man for his sexual lapses than for his policies

[I]nstead of discussing where the Lib Dems propose to position themselves in British politics - a really interesting question - we can expect days of debate about the merits of three-in-a-bed. The British media have a poor record of uncovering misgovernment, mismanagement and financial chicanery in high places. We lead the world only in exposing bonkers.

The Last Word (for now): That Oaten has been a fool seems indisputable - he built the prison he now sits in. Support for Oaten was conspicuous by its absence from his parliamentary colleagues today. Not even Lembit Opik, who had backed Oaten for the leadership and had been admirably fire and brimstone in his defence of Charles Kennedy, could muster words of any warmth. Every time something like this happens, you think that, for the sake of friendship or camaraderie or empathy or whatever, a colleague will speak out in support, at least acknowledge the dark place in which their friends find themselves, take the risk for pity’s sake. But no, it never happens. Oaten is now unclean and those with ruthless ambitions must get far away for fear of drawing the taint towards them. It’s a dirty world.

Jarndyce rounds off the day.