Following Damian McBride's resignation late this afternoon, a Downing Street spokesman made the following statement:
But as far as Chris Grayling – shadow home secretary and the senior Conservative attack dog – is concerned, the matter is far from over. He immediately issued a statement in which he demanded an explanation of events from Gordon Brown:
Appearing on Sky News a short while ago, Mr Grayling reiterated these points, demanding a "proper investigation" and a "full and proper explanation" from the Prime Minister as to who else in Downing Street was involved and who else knew about the emails.
He added that he regarded the above Downing Street statement as "dismissive" and that the affair was more serious than a storm in a teacup, involving as it did a "structured attempt" to put out scurrilous rumours about Opposition politicians coming from "the heart of Gordon Brown's communications centre".
Meanwhile, the News of the World has confirmed that it will tomorrow reveal the "sensational" details contained in Damian McBride's emails and show that the plan to smear a number of senior Tories was "far more sophisticated than McBride or Draper have claimed and was close to completion."
According to the News of the World, the emails "show McBride and Draper schemed to spread false malicious stories that:
Jonathan Isaby