A few weeks ago a Tory MP sent me what appeared to be a genuine snuff video. It arrived without warning at 8.05 in the morning. It showed two men running out of a road tunnel pursued by a four-wheel drive vehicle. A passenger in the vehicle gunned down the men then ran them over. There was no accompanying message. Within a day the sender had returned to sending arguments in favour of a hard Brexit. We never spoke of this. What was there to say?

Having worked in parliament since 2005, it is hard to know what is normal any more. But just as the headlines get more hysterical, so MPs’ private behaviour seems to be getting more delirious. There was the MP who