A question of grooming

This morning’s newspapers throw up the next round of questions in the Damian Green affair. The latest is that the Tory MP is accused of “grooming” his source in the Home Office to provide a series of leaks. Now, if this accusation is anything like a plank in the case against Green, then clear dividing lines need to be spelt out. How does this “grooming” differ from an MPs’ traditional methods of cultivating a relationship with a source? Is it because of the number of leaks? Is it because the source hadn’t leaked before? Is it because the source was relatively young? Is it because the source was given instructions as to what to leak? Now, I’m not trying to make a case one way or the other, here. I’m genuinely interested in the answers. Where the lines are drawn could have huge implications for every MP who has ever received – or will ever receive – a leak.