Only joking?

So, Jimmy Carr landed himself in a spot of bother for telling a joke some people found offensive. Not exactly a big surprise, is it? And neither do I disagree with the Guardian's Bruce Dessau in his general defence of the occasionally deliberately offensive comedy of the likes of Stewart Lee.

But I do have an issue to his contention that "it was a good joke, and a defensible one, not least because it had a political subtext. Carr was not mocking war heroes, but underlining the horrific injuries of young soldiers on the frontline". Was he? Was he really? Somehow I doubt it, even taking into account his visits to a military hospital and rehabilitation centre. I've never got the impression from Carr's comedy that he even knows what a moral compass is, let alone possesses one.

(Incidentally, bet that in the wake of the Moir affair the Mail were glad to be able to get back to playing the part of the outraged. Also interesting to note that the report's author can't help alluding to Carr's friendship with Mail bete noire Jonathan Ross and thus to Sachsgate...)