The Mail on Sunday today published the latest installment in the undoing of John Prescott. One of its photographers just happened to be spending Thursday patrolling the boundaries of the DPM's official residence and took photos of Prezza playing croquet. Or maybe the MoS pays a photographer to stake out Dorneywood, 24/7. Or could it be that someone within the DPM's party - no, surely not one of the Special Branch officers - tipped off somebody else who tipped off the MoS. One might almost suspect there was a deliberate campaign being waged to discredit John Prescott, for reasons known only to its perpetrators (although power might have something to do with it).
Correction: The guy who took the pictures of Prescott playing croquet was a freelance photographer who sold the pics to an agency, not a Mail on Sunday employee.
Gary Trotter, the photographer who snapped Mr Prescott playing croquet at his country retreat, insisted the pictures were in the public interest. He said he had been visiting Dorneywood over the past month in the hope of spotting Mr Prescott and had burst out laughing when he saw what he was doing. (link)
I didn't hear the interview Trotter is reported to have given the BBC, so I don't whether he was asked if he had been tipped off by anyone (not that, if he had been, he would likely admit to it). I'm still struck by improbabilities and coincidences of the story.