Keep your eye on the ball.

It has been said that a lie will be around the world before the truth has got its boots on. While that might have originated as an illustrative comment, the age of the internet has made it a reality.

However, in a political climate where presentation is King, it would be inappropriate to talk about lies and truths when the reality is in spin and counter-spin.

With that in mind, it is worth looking at one story this week which pulled on its boots and ran. 'Tories questioned over their stance on IR35', warned some news sites in the wake of the

Times' breaking the news with a 'Tories reticent of tax for self-employed headline.' For one moment, I thought I had slept through a General Election and almost expected to see front page pictures of William and Ffion waving happily from outside Number 10 and Michael Portillo coming down the steps of

Number 11 brandishing his Red Box.

But no - it seemed the explanation was more simple than that. Spurred on by a tenuous newspaper article, other sites and pressure groups had suddenly become engaged by a man who's only been Shadow Chancellor for five minutes with no real power and what he might or might not do about something which might or might not exist (remember PCG's judicial review) and for which he might or might not have responsibility at some unspecified and improbable point in the future. And if the latest post-baby Blair polls are to be believed, the absolute earliest that could happen is in six or seven years' time. (And they say a week is a long time in politics).

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest - one where reality still prevails - lives the current Chancellor, who is driving through this ill-conceived legislation as we speak. This is the man who, with a stroke of his pen, could put a halt to this now. Yet, next week, he will sit back and watch as his Ministers and officials once again drive this unpopular and unworkable measure through Parliament during the Committee

Stage of the Finance Bill.

So what prompted journalists to lose touch with reality this week? The genesis of the story seems to be with the Times where the reporter had been told by a colleague that there was a rumour that Portillo had said he might not repeal IR35. This alleged remark was allegedly made in private, and no, could not be sourced.

In the interests of getting supportive comment for this, the journalist started a ring-around of various groups. 'Are you demanding that

Portillo retracts his comments?' 'What comment?' 'The comments he's meant to have made in private about not repealing IR35' 'Did he make those comments?' 'I don't know, I've been told he did'.

At least one pressure group called Portillo's office for confirmation or denial. They were told that Portillo, along with Hague and Maude before him, was opposing IR35, they would not have introduced IR35 at this point and when (rather than if!) they came to power they would review the situation then in the light of the prevailing circumstances. But no

Opposition party reveals the details of its tax policy at this stage in a Parliament.

For a Party in Opposition - this seems to be the right approach, to oppose. At least one pressure group pointed out to the journalist that the current argument was with the current Chancellor who could do something rather than someone who couldn't do anything for years.

Needless to say, the journalist continued to ring-around until someone said something which supported the story. And the spin was complete.

So, on the eve of the last chance for the existing Chancellor to change his mind, can we have a 'reality check':

1. IR35 is not yet in Statute - the Labour Government could still listen to the ever-increasing condemnation of the measure and stop it;

2. No-one is denying that there are abuses which can be tempered - but at the moment the Government is using a B52 bomber to crack the proverbial nut;

3. Isn't it interesting that just when the heat is being turned up by many reputable organisations, a Shadow Chancellor is expected to justify a hypothetical situation; whereas no-one seems to be knocking at number

11, where the architect of IR35 can be caught in the act of killing off the enterprise economy and driving many small businesses to the wall or to foreign climes.

And before anyone thinks this is a party political broadcast on behalf of the Conservative Party, let me make it clear that should the Tories find themselves in power sooner than the pundits predict, I will be beating a path to their door and demanding action. This has nothing to do with political preferences - it has more to do with dealing with the facts as they stand rather than tripping off to fantasy island.

In the meantime, when attention should have focused on the Government about to nail the lid down on the enterprise coffin for good despite the groundswell of opposition to IR35, instead there has been near-panic over some crystal-ball-gazing spin what might happen in a decade's time.

Now who stands to benefit from eyes having been taken off that particular ball? Answers on a postcard please to ........