Mr McBride used his Downing Street account when he sent the e-mails in January to former government spin doctor Derek Draper.

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Derek Draper, his former aide, says that his old boss is by temperament a gambler and probably thought he could get away with it.

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The e-mails were originally sent in January to former government spin doctor Derek Draper, who runs the LabourList blog and was proposing to set up a new gossip-led site.

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