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It takes a lot of bottle...

... to appear on the telly defending the use of bottled water.

Following the announcement by government minister Phil Woolas that he was banning mineral water from his offices, there was an extraordinary debate on BBC News 24 last night between a Green member of the London Assembly and a representative of some body that represents bottled water producers. The water bloke produced some of the most ridiculous arguments I think I've ever heard in a five-minute studio discussion.

He was saying stuff like "With mineral water, you have the choice between still or sparkling. You don't get that with tap water, do you?"

To his credit, anchor Jon Sopel did try to cut through the c**p. But it was painful to watch. The trade representative was so bubbly with enthusiasm for his product that he might have been mistaken for a bottle of San Pellegrino.

Knowing Phil Woolas from his days as NUS President back in the 1980s, I suspect he thinks mineral water is for soft southern jessies.

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