As conspiracy theories go, those surrounding Stephen Byers's aide
Jo Moore can only pass muster in the navel-gazing media world.
Nevertheless, a round-up of some of them is well worth a few column
inches ...
Firstly, news of Railtrack's demise was released in the aftermath of the
terror attacks to attract less media attention.
Then, the Jo Moore e-mail story was released to detract attention from
Railtrack. Or alternatively the e-mail was leaked by an aggrieved
individual in the DTLR in retaliation for Moore's reportedly sour
attitude towards civil servants.
Another option is that the e-mail was leaked to detract attention from
the problem of stray missiles in Afghanistan.
Next, Downing Street press secretary Tom Kelly launched a - seemingly
misplaced - attack on the BBC's Kate Adie in order to prevent the Jo
Moore story leading The Sun.
Finally, the US and Britain admitted to the accidental bombing of an
Afghan village in an effort to rid the headlines of this pointless media
obsession and concentrate on the slightly more important story of the
war taking place at the moment.
Take your pick.