Readers will remember how last year Guido revealed another Patrick Mercer mystery. As Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Security, he received almost £10,000 from private security firm Clearwater, sponsoring their MD Kevin Horak’s parliamentary pass for his troubles. Mercer insisted there was nothing to see here, despite being reported to the Parliamentary Standards commissioner. Who did nothing.

Labour MP Thomas Docherty, who reported Mercer at the time, tells Guido:

“The Mercer scandal shows the need to reform what happens when legitimate complaints are made to the Standards Commissioner. It should not be for the member of the public to know the rule book and identify the specific breach. The commissioner should act in the same way as the police and be prepared to investigate potential wrongdoing of parliamentary activities at face value.”