Never let the facts stop you ranting

According to the Evening Standard:

The car belonging to the man who caused the Upton Nervet rail disaster was in such a poor state of repair that the driver's door often jammed, it was revealed today.

His landlord in Reading, David Foote, said: "You couldn't get out of the driver's side - the door was jammed. It always was, ever since he bought the car two years ago."

His comments came as doubts emerged over claims that Mr Drysdale was trying to commit suicide. Police investigating the tragedy that claimed seven lives, including that of Mr Drysdale, near the village of Upton Nervet, Berkshire, have found no evidence in his private life indicating he wanted to kill himself.

They admit they may never discover whether Mr Drysdale intended to stop in the path of the 100mph intercity train or whether he simply broke down at the wrong moment.

A police source said they are "baffled" by Saturday's incident, adding that a motive for suicide is usually discovered within two days of an incident. "No one we have interviewed has suggested that Mr Drysdale was depressed," the source added. "No one has said he was suicidal. There is just no evidence surrounding his state of mind.

"People have said he was a bit quiet, but he always was. It is entirely possible we may never know what really happened that night." Another former colleague of Mr Drysdale said he constantly forgot to fill the car with petrol. "It happened all the time," she said. "He was happy and loved his job.

"There was just no obvious reason for him to kill himself."

But then, if there is something obviously ghastly about people jumping to conclusions to justify dragging out the old hobby-horses for another beating, there is also something wearily, darkly familiar - something distinctly Cuthbertsonian - about the attitude towards facts that it demonstrates.