Scene One – what actually happened. Woman sitting on pavement, begging. Enter the leader of the Opposition on a walkabout, with aides, journalists and photographers. What does he do? Begging is illegal, he is thinking; the Big Issue movement, which helps the homeless to help themselves, says one should never give in to it. But to ignore her would seem heartless. So he bends awkwardly half towards her, avoids eye contact, and sheepishly fishes a coin from his pocket and drops it into her cup at arm’s length, his face an expression of distaste. Whether it was two pence or two pounds, witnesses do not agree, but the images in next day’s papers suggests the former. So it’s another PR disaster, which fits neatly into the current media narrative that Ed Miliband is not o