McBride won’t get severance pay-off…

…said the PM’s spokesman Michael Ellam earlier. It would’ve been more surprising if he had considering McBride threw in the towel himself.

Apart from two questions this morning’s entire lobby briefing was consumed with the detail of “e-mailgate”.

Ellam said the PM was furious about the whole affair, but wouldn’t expand on how Brown viewed accusations that he’d personally encouraged a conniving culture in Downing Street.

He also wouldn’t commit an answer on whether the PM felt the activity was “out of character” for McBride.

Many of the questions focused on the role of Tom Watson, who Ellam said the PM still had full confidence in.

The official position is that Watson had no involvement in any proposed smear campaign – but hacks this morning were asking if he had any knowledge. To which Ellam replied that Watson had no involvement.

When challenged that having “no involvement” was different from having “no knowledge”, Ellam said he refused to get into a conversation over “sematics”.

It seems Watson is safe, for now. But who knows what other e-mails are lurking in shadows?