Have scientists found a crashed flying saucer on the seabed?

Next up on the Catch-Up Service, the Mail ran campaigns against plastic bags and quangos, and was excited about the prospects of more e-petitions on the No 10 website, launched on 29 July.

John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair, told the BBC on 4 August that his boss had been relaxed when e-petitions were first invited by the Government and revealed opposition to road-pricing:

When people said to Tony Blair there were 1.8 million people against road charging. He said there were always 1.8 million people against road charging, now we have their e-mail addresses.

(Blair wrote an email to them explaining his policy, but it was dropped anyway.)

Most of the time, though, the Mail asked a lot of Questions to Which the Answer is No, of which the above was the most formulaic of the genre, asked on 2 August. Number 687.

Picture: Peter Lindberg

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• smike e

  “Have scientists found a crashed flying saucer on the seabed?”
   
  Yes. And scientists think you crashed it here after being rejected by your own planet.

• LancashreLad

  Mr Rentoul can be forgiven for his frivolous nonsense as not
  much news has happened lately;the proletariat rising against the police state
  has been eclipsed by Mr Cameron knocking Mr Campbell about.

  And what about the magic photograph that Thames Valley
  Police revealed this week that they have of the body of Dr David Kelly? The
  photograph is so very special that only special people are allowed to see it,
  that rule will be reviewed in 70 years.

  So far only 3 people have seen it and what they saw has
  amazed the world of the occult. Everyone who sees the photograph sees a
  different image. Thames Valley Police have remained pragmatic about their ethereal
  piece of evidence, they say that whilst the image shows the body in just one
  position peoples interpretation of the position may differ.

  The three positions seen by the lucky few have been 1) Body
  sat against a tree, 2) Body lay flat on its back very close to a tree and 3)
  The body several feet from any trees, in a clearing. There is rumoured to be a
  4th account but this has not been confirmed and probably never will
  because the police have decided that the Freedom of Information Act is boring.
  The 4th view apparently reveals the body floating 3 to 4 foot
  above the ground; experts say this isn’t unusual for a photograph of this
  type.

  But whilst the police state remains intact photographs of
  this type will be used to cover up serious crime; for 70 years at least.

• TarquinBroxted

  How dangerous are e-mail petitions? Apart from the Torygraph goons “Bring back hanging) for Kizsko, Barry George, Colin Stagg, Winston Silcott? Shall we ask Jody McIntyre?

• ZacMurdoch

  Off topic, but can I add two more to the Banned List – assuming they aren’t there already:

  ‘One of the only’, as in ‘one of the only journalists allowed into. . .’ and ‘two choices’, meaning two options from which to choose, ie one choice.

• porkfright

  It’s not a flying saucer-it’s a collection of WMDs.

• http://twitter.com/JohnRentoul John Rentoul

  No, that’s pedantry, which is admirable, but quite different.

• postageincluded

  No, precision is admirable. “Pedantry iz the science ov investing what little yu know in one kind ov perfumery, and insisting upon sticking that under every man’s knose whom you meet”.

• moody river

  They say it’s a new prison for loony Blair supporters. What few there are.