the best (and the nastiest) paper in Britain; they normally know exactly what their readers are thinking or are frightened by and appeal to the worst elements in our characters.

BUT - they are starting to lose the plot.

SIGN ONE - hiring the ghastly Janet Street Preacher as a columnist (her first bile was yesterday).

SIGN TWO - assuming your readers don't notice you calling us idiots.

In today's paper, on full page 12, their latest "righteous indignation" over the Brown "whitewash" about the Iraq war fails to even hint at what we all know. The true villain of the tragedy was THE MEDIA, papers exactly like the Mail, supportive of invasion from the start.

Nowhere does the Mail say "we got it wrong. Our top, key writers and journalists and columnists all fell for the Government line. We all backed Blair and Campbell and Bush from the start. None of us dared support the Lib Dems - the only politicians with the balls and honesty and courage to be right from the start".

Rather like only Vince Cable (who now writes for the Mail) on the economy.

Yes, Brown's whitewash is going to be terrible. But papers like the Mail should shoulder as much blame as the politicians.

I basically agree with your whole analysis.

The Mail possibly has the best design and presentation of any tabloid in Britain and despite it's far right ranting it's easy to read between the lines to get the real picture.

But they have hired Janet Street Porter??. Disappointing but I guess we'll see her this week in the International Mail-a compendium of the week's newspapers and actually a bloody good read.

I've got nothing against the lady although I find her annoying but there must be a host of new young writers out there to give the rag new life.