Where is the News of the World when you need it?

Talk about déjà vu ! Right back to the good old days with a vengeance, and with all the standard ingredients.

MP. Family man. Prostitution. Actually, quite old-fashioned really. And as usual there is a clamor from both the tabloids and those saints in government declaiming continuation as untenable.

And he has resigned from committee chairman, and no doubt hopes that something else comes up quickly to get him off the front page. And no doubt it will.

However, the pain goes on for his family, and that is where I struggle with the sanctimonious hordes. There will always be innocent victims pushed unwillingly into the headlights, and receiving scars that may never really heal.

And through it all, the hypocrisy. Yes, as public servants it seems fair that we should have some expectation of honourable behaviour, but they are human. And whilst I would never condone dishonesty, especially within a family situation, the prurience is a little beyond the pale.

Those that proclaim the loudest, I suspect, can afford a close examination of their own lives the least, but that never stops the tabloids from lurid exposures, or politicians from saintly statements.

There is always the question of whether a public servant cheats in their private life, will they do so in their public role? And I don’t know that there is a definitive answer. It isn’t acceptable behaviour, but that doesn’t mean it’s a public matter.

Neither would I ever advocate that favours and deals are done behind closed doors, because that way lies corruption.

However, trial by tabloid should also be a thing of the past. There is no justification for private individuals to be damaged for the sake of a front page splash, and the sooner we stop exercising ourselves over private lives, and concentrated on the damage being done to us in public, the better.

And for god’s sake, Keith Vaz, if you are going to behave like an idiot, if you did, then remember who you are, remember your position and your visibility, most importantly remember your family, and don’t!