Martin loses it

Michael Martin has just exploded. Kate Hoey raised a point of order: doesn’t the Metropolitan Police have better things to do than investigating leaks? You often get the feeling that Martin is just waiting to snap “You can’t handle the truth!” à la A Few Good Men. Hoey seemed to tip him over the edge. She has form, you see. With a reddened face, Martin said sarcastically that he had listened to her “pearls of wisdom on Sky News” at midnight. He is evidently angered that she dares to discuss it. (There’s a protocol that MPs don’t criticise the Speaker outside of Westminster – which just makes it sound like all MPs are happy with the appalling status quo, whereas some are just as disgusted as the rest of us). Martin went on, voice quivering with anger:

“Is it the case that an employee of this House should be able to hand over any private data to any organisation of his or her choosing? The allegation – and I say they are allegations – is that that information was handed over to a third party to find the highest bidder for private information.