darinsullivan.blogspot.com: Is Glenn Milne in the News Ltd naughty corner?

Glenn Milne is no longer an Insiders panellist, that much is clear. But as to his future at News Limited, well let's just say we're waiting to see what happens when the columnist returns from the naughty corner.

The man has endured a horror week since his column in The Australian last Monday was pulled from the online version of the paper for containing unverified claims about prime minister Julia Gillard.

Milne has since been axed from his plum slot on ABC's Insiders program, one of the few areas where he was able to extend his reach beyond the commentariat of Holt Street.

And the backlash could only be getting started. Milne is absent from the national broadsheet today, with no word as to his future at News Limited. On his bio, Milne is promoted as having a "weekly political column in The Australian". However it seems "weekly" hasn't been the case for some time.

Chris Mitchell, editor-in-chief of The Australian, told The Power Index this morning that Milne "did not have a weekly column" at the paper and that he alternates with stablemate Chris Kenney. Mitchell declined to be drawn on Milne's future at the paper.

ABC News head of policy Alan Sunderland confirmed on the weekend Milne had been dumped ahead of his slated appearance on yesterday's Insiders. Sunderland said Milne had been informed by executive producer Kellie Mayo last Thursday the ABC "wouldn't use him this week and we probably won't be using him again''.

Sunderland also said there were other factors in the dumping of Milne: "The issue this week played a part, but there were also other issues in the past that I don't want to go into," he told The Sunday Age.

The Power Index understands a recent column by Milne on the The Drum regarding Tony Abbott's chief-of staff Peta Credlin may have helped lead to his demise at Insiders. In the piece, Milne published allegations of supposed travel rorts by Credlin, despite her issuing vehement denials. Again the column was removed.

Milne's woes started after The Australian was forced to issue a correction and an apology to the prime minister for a column in which Milne said Gillard was ''implicated albeit unknowingly in a major union fraud''. Not long after the column's publication, Gillard issued an ultimatum with Mitchell and News Limited boss John Hartigan for the piece to be withdrawn.

The claims piqued the interest of another former Insiders panellist, conservative loudmouth Andrew Bolt, who claimed Gillard's heated demands for a retraction were a blow to free speech.

Mitchell has since said that Gillard was "apoplectic" about the allegations and that even the legendary sprays from Paul Keating "were nothing compared to this".

Milne said he regretted the Insiders decision, which he says comes after 10 years of good service.

"I think you've got to have a go at these things and we're in the political domain here. This is a public figure issue, and I believe the story will come out in some form or another, and I think I'll be vindicated in the end,'' he told The Sunday Age.

Bolt came to Milne's defence on Saturday, calling for an uprising from his blog's true believers: "This shutting down of debate is sinister and shameful. Had John Howard tried it, there would be a riot in the Left. There should be a riot about it now."

This morning the piece had already generated 321 comments, most of them supportive of Milne.