It was a busy news day yesterday, during which HSJ editor Alastair McLellan's eagle eye spotted a significant letter to Jeremy 'Bellflinger' Hunt from Chairman Mal of NHS England (The Artist Formerly Known As The NHS Commissioning Board).

In his classic essay 'Fear And Loathing At the Superbowl', Hunter S Thompson famously said, "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro".

How could NHS Comrade-In-Chief Sir David Nicholson have been so stupid as to mislead the Public Accounts Committee when he could be caught out in so doing?

For whatever his faults, Comrade Sir David is not a stupid man.

Why, then, did he do such a stupid thing?

The answer lies in Marxism. Inevitably.

False consciousness, to be precise.

Health Service Journal has published a copy of former United Lincoln Hospitals Trust CE Gary Walker's 2009 letter to Comrade-In-Chief David Nicholson.

The concluding two paragraphs of the letter prove that Nicholson misled the Public Accounts Committee yesterday during his evidence.

Vicarious masochists, sadists and health policy geeks (you do the Venn diagram) can enjoy re-watching Comrade Sir David Nicholson's evidence session to the Commons Public Accounts Committee this afternoon.

The only possible description of the session was a ComradeShambles.

Ignorance or incompetence?
When the only defences open to you are that you were ignorant or incompetent, you are not in a good place. That is where the Comrade-In-Chief finds himself.

Taken from the fabulous Hansard, below follows the transcript of yesterday's debate on NHS accountability and transparency in the House of Commons.

Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con): I beg to move,

Today's Telegraph carries what looks very much like a Number 10 briefing that a plan has been hatched to liberate Comrade Sir David in 2014.

The knowledge of text messages from the PM to the Comrade-In-Chief is a bit of a clue.

I have written previously about Lord Ashcroft's polling of undecided voters, and what it means for the opposition.

The lucre-laden Lord's latest, 'Marginal Territory', does as its title implies and examines only marginal seats for the 2015 election.

Health economist Professor Alan Maynard skewers the policy commissariat

“We know it’s stupid, but it is policy” said the Department of Health civil servant as the Secretary of State (SoS) left the room.

“But why don’t you tell Jeremy that it’s stupid?”

“Don’t worry we have but he just smiles, congratulates us on our insightful support and ignores us. It was, with varying degrees, ever thus!”

At 9.30 this morning, Comrade Sir David Nicholson will appear before the Commons health select committee in connection with their inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.