The most damaging charge against Tony Blair's government is that it is so obsessed with spin that it hardly knows what the truth is. Recent events have lent weight to the accusation. A row between the transport secretary, Stephen Byers, and his chief information officer, Martin Sixsmith, has damaged the minister's, and the government's, credibility. A well-orchestrated show of support for Mr Byers in Parliament has enabled him to survive for now, but informed sources predict that he will be sacked at the next reshuffle. "He is a liability," says a Whitehall insider. Mr Byers's problems began two weeks ago when press reports claimed that his chief information officer had intervened to prevent his special adviser, Jo Moore, from slipping out bad news on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral. Ms Moore had previously been exposed as the author of an e-mail written on September nth saying that it would be a good day "to bury" bad news. She survived that episode only thanks to Mr Byers's support. This latest incident threatened to sink them both.
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