Guido has been trying to get hold of the Bob Russell this morning, but it seems that his office don’t like answering the phone. The LibDem has replaced the disgraced Mike Hancock on the Defence Select Committee. Russell is MP for Colchester, a garrison town; and he was a member of the LibDem “Shadow” defence team from 2005 until 2010 , so seemingly fits the role. He’s also Hancock’s flatmate…

Russell potentially had as much access to defence documents as Mike Hancock did, crucially whilst the Handy-cock’s affair was going on. Given the circumstances, perhaps Bob Russell could answer a few questions:

• Did he know about Hancock’s affair?
• Did he ever meet Zatuliveter at the flat he shares with Hancock?
• Did she ever stay there?
• Did he ever leave defence related documents at the flat?
• Did he ever leave his laptop or Blackberry at the flat?

Guido will call back after lunch…