The curious case of William Hague and his 25 year old male spad (SPecial ADviser) Chris Meyers continues today after the mainstream media picked up the story from the Guido Fawkes blog which has now led to the resignation of Meyers.

On the one hand we have Guido’s self promotional and scurrilous rumours implying that William Hague is gay simply because he shared a twin hotel room with his spad, while on the other hand we have the openly gay Iain Dale suggesting that any negative comment in such circumstances is clear evidence of homophobia…

Which is right? In my opinion, neither.

There was a genuine story here about the credibility of Chris Meyers as a spad – a second class degree from Durham University and a law degree with no work experience does not suggest to me that he was eminently qualified for the role.

Indeed, if these were Hague’s only criteria for the role I would consider myself to be overqualified – to be paid up to £68K of taxpayers’ cash I would expect political and relevant work experience rather than a bit of chauffeuring.

There is also a question mark over Hague having 3 spads, contravening Cameron’s edict that ministers should have a maximum of 2 to save taxpayer money. There was a story here – but one of credibility, competence and judgment, not of sexuality.

Sadly, this potential story was dumbed down by Guido into a gay issue, resulting in Myers resigning for the good of the party and the Foreign Secretary. Iain Dale does not come out of this smelling of roses either, choosing to ignore the real story with an attack on Guido for raking over the coals in a homophobic way.

It is a shame that they both swing to the extremes. Amidst the tittle tattle over the shared twin bedroom and the furore over the resignation of Meyers, much has been missed.

Hague appears to have got away with justifying the original appointment as “Christopher Myers has demonstrated commitment and political talent over the last eighteen months. He is easily qualified for the job he holds.”

I think there are many like me who would love to debate the merits of that statement, ask for evidence of the supposed ‘qualifications’ and question whether public money was put to good use paying for a third adviser who appeared to have no relevant experience.

Now that Meyers has gone, to evade the cauldron of publicity unleashed by Guido, we will not have that chance.