We have a Government which has established Britain as a global laughing-stock

Boris Johnson (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

‘They think that everything above the turf is legal, if they can get away with it’ was my father’s opinion of playing sport with public school types.

It appears that members of our current Government use the same thinking. The decision to whip Conservative MPs to vote down Mr Paterson’s suspension after breaking lobbying rules is only the latest scandal; and to invent an appeal mechanism as justification is the biggest of red herrings on what is clearly a case of strict liability. The independent watchdog adjudicated, and the committee of Mr Paterson’s peers agreed.

We saw the same disregard of honourable behaviour with abuse of spending rules and misuse of personal data during the 2016 Referendum.

We have seen it again with Ministerial bullying, with dubious intervention in planning proposals, and in questionable funding of Mr Johnson’s flat refurbishment. We have seen it in the blatant disregard of international agreements.

We have seen it in the enforced resignations of a multitude of independent professionals of integrity from within the public arena. To their immense credit, 13 Conservative members voted against the Government’s shenanigans, and ‘the court of public opinion’ has forced a climb down. But it shouldn’t be like that.

I anticipate the next fiddle being a change of rules to allow a completely unsatisfactory individual to take charge of Ofcom

It’s not one law for the rich and another for the rest of us – it’s no law at all for those in power. The vast majority of politicians I have met have been dedicated and hard-working individuals with the best interests of all their constituents and the country at heart.

But we have a Government which has established Britain as a Global Laughing-Stock, and which has made Mr Putin a very happy man.

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