Never say you're sorry, except for "Asspocalypse IV"

Jacqui Smith. Always good value.

We seem to get one Government Minister or another on the Today Programme every morning at the moment, pointing out that they didn’t break The Rules* by spending public money on second (or third) homes.

But dear Jacqui is the only one who has to append “I did absolutely nothing wrong” with “apart from the porn, which I’ve apologised for”.

Before we leap to judgement though, we should remember that MPs do have a very stressful job**, shoulder the full responsibility (if they're ministers) for mistakes made in their departments*** and, thanks to the rigours of democracy, have relatively little job security****. So go easy on them, eh?

* As written by the very people who stand to benefit and, apparently, stating that MPs can have as many houses in central London as they and their extended families might need.

** Parliament sat for around 160 days last year. Attendance is generally far from compulsory.

*** Although, since the late 80s, not to the extent of actually resigning or, indeed, apologising.

**** As opposed to the rest of us, who move seamlessly from being fired to massively well-paid consultancy positions with shadowy international organisations, willing to pay through the nose for our connections and the veneer of respectability.