Fair to say the Tory backbenchers who have campaigned for a genuine recall bill didn’t take too kindly to Nick Clegg telling LBC that the Queen’s Speech fudge was all their fault. Zac Goldsmith offers Guido his thoughts:

“Clegg told listeners that he and I are ‘at one’ on the issue of Recall, that he supports ‘radical’ Recall but has had to compromise because of the Conservative backbenchers. I wish that were true, but it is the opposite of the truth. I have debated the issue with him many times, and until very recently, he was vehement in his opposition to a proper Recall system.

Nick Clegg is the architect of the current Recall Bill. It is a disgrace even by the standards of modern politics – and it will be rejected by Parliament, as it has been rejected by every single democracy campaign group in the UK. It is nothing more and nothing less than a con. Bottom line is that even after his ‘Recall’ is introduced, it would still be possible for an MP to join the BNP, fail to show up in Parliament, fail to speak to constituents, break all promises, even take a 5-year holiday without qualifying for Recall.”

Douglas Carswell is even less forgiving:

“If I can be blunt, it’s bullsh*t and he knows it. It’s straightforward deceit and he has said this simply for effect. The truth is that on the Conservative backbenches there is strong support. Where there is kickback it’s coming from people holding red boxes and people in the Cabinet Office. I wouldn’t hold it against Clegg if he opposed he idea, but what’s absolutely unforgivable is that he opposed it but pretends to be in favour.”

Who do you believe?