SOMETIMES it’s best to keep schtum when to talk about an issue would stir up unrest or lead to the spread of partially substantiated rumour, but as the old wartime poster reminds us, loose lips sink ships, and keeping a lid on bad news has never been easy.

A lie, it is said, can travel halfway round the world before the truth has time to put on its shoes, although it’s probably more accurate to say that the interesting version of a story gains traction a lot more easily than its mundane counterpart.