Help! apt-get fails on /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Jason Wood <jasonwood@blueyonder.co.uk>]

Hi,

I am running Debian unstable/testing, last updated a few days ago.

After running dselect upgrade today, whenever I try to install something 
using apt-get I get the following error :

Reading Package Lists... Error!
E: Unable to parse package file /var/lib/dpkg/status (1)
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

Reading the package list fails at 1%. I have taken  a quick look at the 
status file, but haven't got a clue what I would be looking for that could 
stop apt-get from parsing it.

Dselect runs perfectly, but I don't know if it uses the status file itself.

In the mean time, I cannot update anything on my computer using apt-get - 
what should I do? 

-- 
Jason Wood
Persistence is a virtue