Has Tom Harris found a new hunting ground?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned in a comment here that it wouldn't entirely surprise me to discover that the mysteriously bashful Political Betting poster "Devo Max" is Tom Harris. It was (and I'm sure this was obvious) a joke, but the poster himself made a great issue of it, as if I was being deadly serious, and it was the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard. That over-reaction made me wonder - doth the Brit Nat protest a little too much? Since then, my suspicions have grown. Consider this...

1) He only writes Nat-bashing posts - never, ever straying on to any other political subject.

2) His repertoire is extraordinarily well-honed - this is someone who's been at it for years on a professional basis.

3) He refuses to answer or even acknowledge any awkward question - classic Harris.

4) The name "Devo Max" itself is one Harris would probably have chosen, given his known fixation with what he describes as "I can't believe it's not independence" (which would have been too much of a giveaway).

5) A comment he once made about music could well place him in Harris' broad age range.

6) He point blank refuses to reveal which political party he supports, but tries desperately hard to distract attention from his refusal to answer. It's hard not to infer that he has something to hide.

7) He has occasionally expressed admiration for David Cameron, which is consistent both with Harris' right-of-centre tendencies, and also with his determination not to be unmasked on PB.

8) He has a writing style eerily similar to Bomber Admin. For instance, he suggested a few hours ago that the SNP might seek Iain Martin's prosecution for committing a "hate-crime" - could that be a product of the brain that gave us the Downfall video that so satisfyingly backfired?

9) In response to the controversy over The Economist's front cover, he mused that he must get himself a copy. That was almost word-for-word what Harris had been reported as saying earlier in the day.

10) The PB moderators are ludicrously zealous in protecting him when he is prodded about his identity. You'd be forgiven for thinking that they were in the know. For instance, earlier this evening, the following sequence of events occurred -

I innocently asked him a question about Doctor Who.

My post was deleted within seconds.

I asked the moderators if Devo Max required protection even from questions about Doctor Who.

My post was deleted within seconds.

I observed that it seemed the answer to my question was yes.

My post was deleted within seconds.

I told the moderator his hand was going to get tired if he kept this up.

My post was deleted within seconds.

About half-an-hour later, I was banned (just "for the night", or so I'm told) for "failing to obey the instructions about not discussing moderation". Hmmm. I must say it's got to the point where being one of the perennial targets of Mr Smithson's "I will not be defied!!!" petulance is a badge of honour. At least he isn't insulting our intelligence this time by pretending that my banning is a "technical fault" - of course last time he'd only just banned Stuart Dickson (again), and my guess is that he knew full well that admitting he'd banned two SNP posters in the space of 24 hours would not look great for the owner of a supposedly 'non-aligned' forum.

* * *

Before I forget, here is the result of the poll on how you'll be ranking the London parties in the local elections -

Won't rank them at all 70%
Liberal Democrat, Conservative, Labour 16%
Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat 4%
Liberal Democrat, Labour, Conservative 3%
Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat 1%
Labour, Liberal Democrat, Conservative 1%
Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour 1%

* * *

Lastly, it is with great regret that I must announce that I have decided to ban Mike Smithson from posting on Scot Goes Pop with immediate effect. He has repeatedly ignored instructions to stop his irritating overuse of the phrase "can't be arsed", and the situation has now become intolerable. Posting here is a privilege, not a right, and if people can't be arsed to follow the Sacred Commandments, they only have themselves to blame. While I'm at it, Plato can sling her hook as well.