Fight!

I am waiting for my copy of Alastair Campbell's diary and doing so with more anticipation than Nick Robinson, who complains that they have been filleted.

This is not just because a friend has called to read me a hilarious section in which Peter Mandelson starts a fight, throwing punches at Alastair during a speech-writing session, with Tony Blair moving to pull the two men apart.

It's because the complaint about filleting doesn't stand up.

Yes, as a historical record they are spoilt by political editing. But as a memoir they aren't. If the author had turned the diary notes into continuous prose, they would be less immediate and accurate but Nick wouldn't have been able to make the same criticism.