Last year it was the expenses saga, which in itself as an exposé was a good journalistic exercise and the Daily Telegraph should be commended for it – exposing the bad apples and reprimanding those who deliberately and knowingly misused the system and abused the public purse was right and the honourable thing to do. However, what transpired after that, the witch-hunt and the deliberate dramatisation of it all, that was not journalism and it was neither right nor honourable. It was barbaric; it undermined the reputation of Parliament and many innocent parliamentarians. And as a result of their indiscriminate headline grabbing shootout we now have a house full of members, including minsters, who are petrified of claiming a single penny and would rather sleep on the floor of their offices than go through what some very innocent parliamentarians had to put up with and endure last year.

Spin this any which way you like but its bad for business, bad for morals and very, very bad for the country and it should never have been allowed to go as far as it did.

Now we have “Entrapment Gate” where members of the Coalition Government are targeted and then deliberately entrapped – the content of what they assumed was a private conversation is published – because they hold different views to the government! Please give me a break, nobody though or believed that all members of the coalition government were 100% on board with everything, it’s a compromise!!! Many have already said in more than one occasion that they did not want the cuts but have to cut!

As an exposé on this occasion the Telegraph has failed, but as for gossip and something for the opposition to chew on, they have scored top marks and get an A+. Labour and certain factions on both sides of the coalition couldn’t have received a better and timely Christmas present – the confirmation of division, although the worst kept secret – is something the anti-coalition brigade will always relish and salivate over.

But what beyond the gossip, the slobber and the instant high have yesterday’s revelations achieved? From where I am standing not much was gained – but it has permanently and irrevocably damaged the openness our MPs have with their constituents.

If we just think about it, was what revealed news, of course not! Is it damaging to the government, maybe a sliver. But will it change the way members of parliament interact with their constituents from now on, absolutely!

As a paper selling trick its genius and folks will not have enough of the Daily Telegraph in the coming days. But beyond that there is no benefit – which raises a big and serious question, is the Telegraph bent on destroying our parliament!?