Foreign Office native David Lidington is getting taken apart from all sides of the House for accepting Spain’s two-fingered excuse that their opening of British diplomatic bags was a “mistake”. Labour’s Gerald Kaufman warned “the softly softly approach of this government is not working”, with never knowingly off message Bob Neill accusing the Spanish of “stooping to the level of Franco”. Peter Bone wants a “couple of gunboats” and Col Bob Stewart ominously asked for “any other measures”. But it was Lidington’s exchange with Andrew Rosindell that summed it up:

AR: “Is it time to send the Spanish Ambassador back to Madrid?”

DL: “No, Mr Speaker.”

The first time an EU country has attacked another member in such away and our cowardly Foreign Office beg for more.