For those of you who don't subscribe to BBC Radio 4's "PM" (M-F hour-long news magazine programme, anchored by the wonderfully acerbic Eddie Mair) newsletter, here is today's effort, which I personally considered to be a masterful summation of the situation:

"Hello.

"Tonight will be the last edition of PM.

"The programme has a fine tradition dating back to 1970 of fighting crime, exposing wrongdoing and getting people to send in photos of their kitchens.

"But it is now clear to me that when PM agreed to pay off Nils Blythe and send him to a job at the Bank of England, I was not in full possession of my faculties. It is a matter of serious regret.

"Of course I didn't know anything except what I did know and that is quite clear. Things were wrong yet much was right. I introduced a new code of practice 20 minutes ago and have now torn it up.

"I'm afraid that since we started co-operating with the police - five minutes ago - it has become clear that we, and by we I don't mean me, must apologise to you. The only sensible way to show you how seriously I take this is to fire the entire PM production team and carry on and sort this mess out.

"Thank you."

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Brilliant, yes?