Trone, as you might expect from a businessman who only recently entered politics, is a bit loose-lipped.

And the inappropriate statement, from a loose-lipped editor, that “it was good we weren’t following the laptop story because it could help Trumpov” sounds on-brand.

“Whether the leak came from The London Clinic, or from a flunkey who had been loose-lipped, remains unclear,” the Ephraim Hardcastle column said.

Loose-lipped German officers are upsetting allies by revealing military secrets.

Two people close to the talks have either pushed back hard against the report or described it as loose-lipped "kite-flying" by someone in London.