New Tory legal test?

It's bad form to lampoon another blogger, especially when he's a real one* with a well-presented site. But Iain Dale seems to have been on the planet zog late last night. Writing about Tessa Jowell and the Old Monk share "scandal"** he admits that "she had obviously asked her husband if he owned the shares and he said no" but declares "ignorance is no defence" and, in the comments area, that "whether she knew she was lying isn't the point".

Iain declares himself to be a middle of the road, moderate sort of Tory (even though he supported David Davis to be leader). So the moderate Tory view is perhaps now that you're guilty until..... well forever. Iain isn't married so perhaps doesn't understand that two minds do not become one the moment the vicar or registrar declares a couple to be man and wife. But his ignorance is, in his opinion, clearly no defence.

If this be a moderate Tory..........

* as distinct from a dilettante such as I
** as I commented elsewhere - on a meter which included Archer, Aitkin, Hamilton to name but a few senior Tories from the time of their last administration, the Tessa Jowell affair would hardly cause the needle to move