Haguegate – can anything be private anymore?

Unless you worked within the Westminster bubble, it is unlikely that until the middle of last week you had ever heard of Christopher Myers.

Depending on future stories, it is also unlikely that you will hear from much from Mr Myers, if ever, again.

For those of you who have missed the story, Mr Myers was one of William Hague’s special advisers. He resigned last week following the ‘revelations(!?)’ that he had shared a room with the Foreign Secretary on political trips.

Regardless of the wisdom of this move – ahead of the Strategic Spending Review, some may applaud Mr Hague’s thrift – his subsequent and very personal media statement, brought into sharp focus what can be said about a public figure on the web.

Basically anything.

The story originated from the self-styled controversial political blogger, Guido Fawkes – it was based around the use of public money and the inappropriateness of Mr Myers for the role, but with more than a hint of innuendo.

As long as the Foreign Secretary hasn’t used his position and public funds in an appropriate way, what he does in his own life should be his and his wife’s business.

Presuming that his subsequent statement is true – the hurt and anguish to reveal such personal and intimate details must have been deeply disturbing – it does beg the question of when exactly does investigative reporting simply become playground tittle-tatter.

Time will tell if this story goes away. However, it is a sharp reminder for anyone in the public eye that nothing, be it truth, or rumour, is private in the world we live in today.

And sometimes managing rumour may be more difficult than managing facts.