Secret’s out, Harold Wilson had another affair. There’s nothing sweet about that, boys | Catherine Bennett

Donoughue only took the opportunity on Today to belittle her (“She would shout at him and blame him for everything”), without explaining why “a brilliant and fascinating politician” like Wilson was unable to deal with a female so generally despised.

Women have very little idea of how much men hate them Germaine Greer As for the wider significance of the disclosure: “We knew” – Donoughue reached again for his euphemism – “there was a little touch of sunshine, not in any of the stories so far, and that was his very happy final relationship with Janet.”

If news of Wilson’s second (probably) affair does not transform understanding of either the man or his legacy, we are indebted to Haines and Donoghue for contributing to another important historical record: that illustrating how thoroughly office life in the 70s bore out Germaine Greer’s contention that “women have very little idea of how much men hate them”.

In the Wilson aides’ testimony, you can practically feel the advancing hand, see the men roll their eyes at mature-female “nagging”, hear them assess the available talent.

What’s more, the “sunshine at sunset” revelations allow for useful insights into Downing Street’s transformation since the days married ministers courted female juniors as much as 22 or 23 years younger than them, confessing only to intimates: “I’m happier than I’ve ever been.” Now they can thrive in the open, enjoying sunshine not just at sunset, but at breakfast, lunch and tea, including, as Boris Johnson has demonstrated, candidates who look worse in shorts, evidence indicates, than Harold Wilson.

True, a dismaying number of reports have failed, faithfully reflecting the spirit of Haines and Donoughue, to register that women were sentient participants in Wilson’s office adventure and would almost certainly have condemned its exposure.