Andrew Gilligan, as expected, has been offered a job on The Spectator, the magazine headed by his most vociferous defender, the Tory MP Boris Johnson.

Gilligan, if he accepts it, will be the magazine's Defence and Diplomatic Editor.

Boris Johnson said:  "He got a very good story which was correct in all central respects and he has been pilloried and vilified by journalists who aren't fit to lick his boots in terms of getting stories.  The job title is a show of solidarity."

Gilligan is said to be thinking about it.