A good man returns to the fold

Of all the characters in the cash for honours scandal, only one was unfairly maligned: John McTernan, Blair’s last political secretary. He was in No 10 but not of No 10: a disarmingly honest and straightforward chap in a rogue’s gallery. I gather he is now back in government, and will tomorrow be named special adviser at the Scotland Office. With Scottish Labour having gone for the vacuous Wendy Alexander as its new leader as of today (it failed to find anyone to challenge her) and Salmond riding high in the polls, Scotland has perhaps never been closer to making the calamitous error of choosing independence. (If only because Salmond is one of the few MSPs who does not make Scots cringe.) So McTernan is off to save the Union. And those who still believe in the idea of Britain should wish him well.