Philip Hammond

Four days ago, Conservative Treasury Spokesman Philip Hammond accused Tom Harris double standards, saying that he “clearly lives on a different planet from ordinary hard-working families”.

Today Mr Hammond stands accused by the News of the World of failing to declare £3 million of dividends.

This shows Hammond to be a first class thrower of stones at greenhouses but the story itself is more telling for something else.

The fact that an expose by the most well read Sunday newspaper in the UK, of not one but four members of David Cameron’s shadow cabinet team has not been picked up by the broadcast media, just shows how difficult it is to get any dividing lines in place when the chips are down.

If you think it is a non-story, just imagine what the reaction would be if the current Chief Secretary to the Treasury failed to declare £3 million in dividends.

Sure, Hammond used a loophole. He can claim that he’s adhered to the letter of the rules that guide entries to the Member’s Register. But the guidelines are fairly explicit. They say the main purpose of the register is “to provide information of any pecuniary interest or other material benefit which a Member receives which might reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions, speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in his or her capacity as a Member of Parliament”. They go on to say that “Members are required to keep that overall purpose in mind when registering their interests.”

He’s the flipping shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury for heaven’s sake. Judging by the lack of coverage today on telly and radio, the mainstream media think that he deserves no further scrutiny.

If ever there was a time for British bloggers to pick up on a story that the mainstream press have missed/ignored, this is it.