Will Gordon Brown publicly dissociate himself from this man?

In the House of Commons today, Tony McNulty, MP insulted the electorate as follows:

Mr McNulty’s demeanour was that of a loutish 12-year-old who is convinced he has unfairly been singled out for criticism and reckons that to give any sign of contrition would mark him out as a wimp. [...]

I regret that I did not recognise that a more formal arrangement woud have been wise and preferable so as to avoid the risk of an appearance of benefit, and I apologise for that.”

How generous of Mr McNulty to apologise for the risk of an appearance of benefit. But it appears that this unfortunate individual has been the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice, with the rules being rewritten in order to catch a man who had behaved exactly as the authorities assured him he had the right to behave:

“I fully accept that this investigation has been an opportunity to shine further light on both the advice given and the rules as they pertained at the time, and that the commissioner has every right to redefine such advice and apply it retrospectively.”

Poor Mr McNulty failed in his innocence to see that providing a house for his parents at public expense might leave him open to criticism: “I should have had much more concern for how these rules were perceived by the public, rather than just following them.”

But let us not dwell any longer on this unfortunate affair, for as Mr McNulty said, it is “time to move on”, after which the insolent fellow left the House with a smile on his face.

Source.

I am lost for words. I trust the Prime Minister will not be so afflicted.