Did a conman help the Blairs buy two flats in Bristol? Yes or no?

Anyone who has ever had breakfast, lunch, dinner or any other meeting with Gordon Brown will know that he gives very little away. Some ministers are known for their bluntness and occasional indiscretions; others may sometimes drink a glass or two more wine than they should, and say things they should perhaps not have. The Iron Chancellor falls into neither category. His complete self-control makes him both formidable and rather unlovable.

As has already been reported in the press, on Monday 18 November Mr Brown had breakfast at the Guardian’s offices in Farringdon Road. It is not uncommon for the paper to host such get-togethers with ministers. By the standards of some of his colleagues, the Chancellor was not on this occasion particularly indiscreet. By his own lights, he was wildly frank. In criticising the idea of top-up fees for universities as ‘ridiculous and elitist’, he openly put himself at odds with their champion, Tony Blair, though he did not name the Prime Minister. The mask dropped only fractionally and momentarily, but Mr Brown had offered a glimpse of his differences with his rival, which are normally only alluded to by his lieutenants.

Most of those present must have realised that they had a story on their hands. According to one report, Ed Balls, the Chancellor’s chief adviser, and incidentally the one with the greater grasp of economic detail, prevailed on the paper to keep it off the front page. He certainly asked that it should be kept over until Wednesday 20 November because Mr Brown was doing his stuff on the Queen’s speech on the afternoon of the 19th. (Although the breakfast was off the record, it is accepted that such meetings can produce stories, so long as names, dates and direct quotes are not used.)