As the world saw YouTube footage of Jon Stewart declaring the House of Commons to be “awesome”on the Daily Show last week, we wore a guilty smile of pride in our archaic but entertaining system of government.Today, that smile has been transformed into an embarrassed facepalm.

You see, according to Commons rules, the use of footage from the house in satire would offend “the dignity of Parliament”, essentially banning the episode in the UK.In an alarming and hilarious rant on last night’s show, Stewart pointed out that not only was the segment praising the mother of all parliaments – but also that the show was broadcast in its entirety in such free speech havens as Chad, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.

We suggest you watch the video now, before the Serjeant-at-arms spoils everyone’s fun.