Wherein "plausible deniability" is stretched to its limit

How does one tell when a politician is lying? The answer, of course, is that its lips are moving:

Gordon Brown has insisted ministers were not aware of the arrest of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green.

The MP was arrested, held for nine hours, and his homes and House of Commons office searched by police probing alleged Home Office leaks.

Opposition MPs have described the move as a "Mayday warning for democracy", while questioning the government's role in the matter.

I think this is exactly what it looks like, over protests to the contrary: brute intimidation. Like the increasingly frequent military-style raids for serving warrants here in the USSA, when Der Staat is given a shiny hammer to play with, sure enough, it's going to find some nails. Any nail will do; Der Staat only requires grist for the mill, not justice.

Police say Mr Green was held on suspicion of "conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office" and "aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office" - an obscure and little-used offence under common law.

One legal expert said it was doubtful whether any case would be brought against Mr Green.

The primary reason I watch the UK like I do: the UK is our canary in the coal-mine, a reliable indicator of the future in the USSA. As Cardinal Richelieu said: "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."

Friends, if we are to be sinners in the eyes of the State, let us sin boldly for that most treasonous cause: liberty.