Once again the Guardian talking sense, this time on the Sir John Sawers’ untimely Facebook story:

… the revelations of Lady Shelley surely contain very little that those in search of such information could not find somewhere else in the course of an afternoon. And certainly there seems to be nothing here to suggest that Sir John is a man of such incurable indiscretion that he should never have been given the job, let alone that he ought to relinquish it.

His appointment continues to look decidedly more acceptable than that of his predecessor, Sir John Scarlett, promoted to head MI6 by Tony Blair despite the role he had played in the build-up to the Iraq war. Sir John, one can safely assume, is better equipped than most to safeguard his family’s security. We do not need yet another inquiry. This whole affair has been overblown.

Of course it has been. But the point of newspapers is only to sell newspapers, and pictures of the new head of MI6 in some antique-looking swimming trunks throwing a frisbee are likely to do well in that noble direction.

Here’s a typical real Sawers story.

When we were posted together in Cape Town in 1988 or thereabouts, John had a super plan for a hot Boxing Day. To walk/climb up the sheer cliff of Table Mountain.

Somehow I agreed to this madness.

It turns out that a few lunatics plus some sea eagles and mountain goats know a path up the mountain via this route, ending not far from the cable-car terminus. The path wends its way steeply up and up and up, at times involving some short tricky climbing and sections no more than a couple of feet wide, with a sheer long drop on the wrong side.

As you can see, this is no normal stroll.

So under John’s inspiring and perspiring leadership, we made it.

Phew.

John and his family are both energetic and proud of their close family life.

Deal with it.