Kim Howells: An admission of convenience?

Does the admission today from Kim Howells, that he was the one who signed off the “permission to be a PE Teacher" slip for a sex offender seem extremely convenient?

The first attempt to divert attention away from Ruth Kelly was to try to pin the blame on Stephen Twigg, the ex-Education Minister who lost his seat in the last election. When it was pointed out that it couldn’t have been him, there was another clamour to find out who and, perhaps too conveniently, up steps a Junior Minister who has since moved to another department to take the blame, someone who would be sacked from the wrong job if they got rid of him?

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe they are telling the truth.  But I have to say there seems to be a very strong element of New Labour convenience in it all.