After Vince Cable’s embarrassing failure to keep Julia Goldsworthy in the loop concerning the Lib Dem “mansion tax” you could have been forgiven for thinking that intra-party communication would be prioritised in the run-up to subsequent, nationally scrutinised, party conferences.

But no. Chris Grayling found himself floundering today, misunderstanding Emily Maitlis’ question about Sir Richard Dannatt’s appointment as a Conservative defence advisor, and expressing the hope that “this isn't a political gimmick. We've seen too many appointments in this government of external people where it's all been about Gordon Brown's PR”.

Having been updated on the facts, Grayling later admitted "I wish I had known before as I would have given him a much more enthusiastic welcome."

Take heed party leaders. A thoughtful group email from Cameron could have avoided all this awkwardness, and is a practice that should be adopted in future.

(Photo: Getty Images)