Prowling politicians & the Bristol debate

In case you ever wondered if politics was heavily spun, an insight from the prime ministerial debate staged in Bristol.

My pass meant I was one of a handful of journalists able to broadcast live from the front of the venue, the Arnolfini arts centre.

But watching the three leaders coming and going wasn't anything like as intriguing as observing their acolytes on the prowl in the nearby press centre during the televised contest.

The walls and even ceiling were crowded with screens. The tables and chairs were creaking with journalists hammering away on laptops.

In between watching the debate, I played 'spot the famous politician'.

What struck me was how casually they looked at the screens, all the while chatting on phones or with aides and journalists. Paddy Ashdown may be nearly 70, but looked more like a teenager with his mobile never out of his hand.

Didn't they need to watch?

Or had the spin doctors already worked out the lines they'd feed the media afterwards?