House of Horrors

Sir Robin Day, a man who was often accused of rudeness to politicians - and always affected to be dismayed at the charge - would have appreciated the spectacle of politicians being far nastier to one another than any television inquisitor could ever be.

Sir Robin Day, a man who was often accused of rudeness to politicians - and always affected to be dismayed at the charge - would have appreciated the spectacle of politicians being far nastier to one another than any television inquisitor could ever be.

New Labour's latest knavish trick to torment its political opponents is the Tory House of Horrors, an interactive game on the Labour Party's website. The idea is fairly obviously ripped off from Channel 4's Big Brother show, with Sada, Darren and Randy Andy replaced by Ann Widdecombe, Michael Portillo, Francis Maude and the rest of William Hague's shadow Cabinet.

A bit of summer fun, and nothing much wrong with that, of course. Except that New Labour's smart alecs should have had the presence of mind to remember how very vulnerable their own top team is to this sort of treatment. After all, the British people have not exactly fallen in love with Robin Cook. Mo Mowlam is still wildly popular, but Jack Straw generates rather less affection. Tony Blair's freeloading is going down pretty badly with the punters. And who could possibly want to share a house with Lord Irvine? There can be no winners from such a conflict.