READING the now-infamous story last weekend about the Tory MP who was suspended over sex and drugs allegations, I was struck by a few different things.
First of all, I can’t be the only person to draw my own conclusions about the Right Honourable David Warburton.
But the thing that really interests me about this story is how quickly other people — let’s face it, mostly men — sprang to Warburton’s defence.
Despite the strength of evidence appearing in support of the various allegations against him, there were immediately claims that the story was a “sting” by “hostile foreign powers”.
Mr Warburton, a 56-year-old married father of two, had the Government whip removed after allegations of sexual misconduct by three women, two of whom worked as parliamentary aides.
He was also accused of having snorted “line after line after line” of cocaine before grinding his naked body against one woman.
Read More on David Warburton
The MP for Somerton and Frome was also photographed in front of four lines of what looked very much like cocaine.
Oh, and he allegedly failed to disclose a loan of more than £100,000 from a Russian businessman that the Financial Conduct Authority had refused to certify as a “fit and proper person”.
Meanwhile, it turns out his wife Harriet was responsible for HR and overseeing his conduct.
But her defence of him reminds me of a sketch from the comedy show Little Britain in which a wife is wheeled out to stand by her man and defend the indefensible.
She seemed to be as surprised by the allegations as the rest of us.
Despite the fact Mr Warburton is being investigated by Parliament’s harassment watchdog, the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, her line is as his.
Essentially, that is: “He’s not done anything wrong and these things have explanations.”
Her brother, Jonathan Baker-Bates, 55, rode quickly to Mr Warburton’s defence, saying: “David’s a nice guy . . . as far as I know, that behaviour is out of character and the wider allegations appear out of character.”
He went further, claiming the allegations could be part of a “fix-up” amid claims the MP could have been targeted by a hostile state.
He said: “It does seem to have a lot of ingredients of something.”
MI5 has warned that malign states could target MPs but Whitehall sources seem to suggest there is no sign of such interference in this case.
Even so, officials have exercised caution and referred the case to MI6, according to some reports.
Mr Warburton denies all the allegations against him.
But there are more general issues that arise from this story.
There is the imbalance of power in politics and the fact some men think that it is acceptable to harness that to their advantage.
And there is the curious psychology of the wives who, whether wronged or not, choose time and again to stand by their apparently faithless, feckless man rather than walk away.
The public defence of the likes of Mr Warburton is also interesting.
It’s reminiscent of when former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was caught on camera kissing his assistant Gina Coladangelo — mid-lockdown — on CCTV in his office last May.
Rather than wait for the evidence to be considered, many people at the time assumed that there was a conspiracy to nobble him. There were various stories about threats to national security.
When the images appeared on The Sun’s front page, Mr Hancock’s allies speculated that he had been the victim of a “hit” by No 10, or even a foreign power such as China.
Isn’t it funny how there seems to be some sort of inbuilt defence mechanism in society for blokes when they are accused of having behaved badly?
All too often, the women who have allegedly “led them astray” are accused of being part of a “honeytrap”. Or else it must be “Russian involvement”.
We can blame Putin for many things . . . but this? I’m not convinced.
Why are we so quick to lay blame elsewhere when chaps are accused of messing up?
I don’t claim to have the answer.
But I think it comes down, in part, to a dangerous cocktail of arrogance, power and ego.
Mr Warburton apparently had the arrogance to pose in front of what looks like cocaine and, according to reports, behave extremely badly.
Did he believe he would be immune to allegations of harassment against him? Where proven, unacceptable actions have consequences.
If these allegations are proven, hopefully one consequence of this sorry tale is that Mr Warburton learns where to draw the line . . . and hopefully not that kind of line.
I’M not sure that a tax on sugar is the answer to the nation’s obesity crisis – but I can think of two things that might help.
First is for us all to achieve the simple magic formula that has been suggested as a way to reduce obesity, and that is to keep our waistline measurement to half our height or less.
This is the new advice from health watchdog Nice, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Too much fat around the middle is linked to a greater risk of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
And now, for the first time, people are being encouraged to measure their waist-to-height ratio, rather than focus on their BMI.
In my view, no one has ever really understood the whole BMI equation.
But this new formula is REALLY simple to follow and might actually be a constructive and helpful way for individuals to create goals when it comes to reducing obesity.
And the other thing that would help is simply knowing how much sugar is in the snacks we love – despite the fact that it is often a shocking amount.
New analysis from campaign group Action On Sugar has revealed that our favourite sweet treats can contain “dangerously high” levels of sugar.
By way of example, a single cookie bought at Aldi can contain up to ten teaspoons of sugar – more than a can of Coca-Cola.
Brownies sold at Caffe Nero are packed full of eight teaspoons of sugar, while doughnuts made by confectionery giant Krispy Kreme can contain three teaspoons.
Gulp! I guess it is really good to remember there’s a reason why they are treats – and you are only meant to have one.
The problem is that once the pack is open, it’s hard to stop.
For damage limitation then, it’s best not to dunk your cookies in a full-fat Coke.
HEARING about Nikki Grahame – who was such an entertaining, original and larger-than-life character – and her experience of anorexia was devastating.
Nikki’s mother Sue was honest about their struggle in the Channel 4 documentary Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? which aired on Thursday.
It was so brave of her to take part because the ordeal is clearly still so raw and painful.
Eating disorders are many parents’ worst nightmare and it can be impossible to know how to help. It is vitally important to keep talking about the reality of it, though the documentary was a very hard watch.
Anorexia is a terrible illness with a very high mortality rate.
My heart goes out to Nikki’s mum. It must have been heartbreaking for her watching her darling daughter fade away.
JUST what is it with men who blame women for their own mistakes?
Take William Weir, who viciously attacked his then 17-year-old girlfriend Jordana Rutherford in Glasgow.
Her crime? She caught him with another girl at a gig.
His response was to beat her so badly she was left unconscious and lying in a pool of her own blood.
She says the incident has left her with a perm-anent scar on her head.
She is also suffering from severe panic attacks and has tried to take her own life.
And yet somehow he was spared jail and told to pay just £1,000 in compensation.
What kind of justice is this? This is a dangerous man and next time a woman might end up dead.
He should have been locked up.
Men fear rejection but women fear death.
IN the spirit of equality, I am so glad to hear that it’s not only tall, dark and handsome men who are considered desirable any more.
Thanks to TikTok, of all things, a new online trend is seeing women embrace the glory of shorter men.
#ShortKingSpring celebrates women’s love for men measuring 5ft 8in or less.
The hashtag has racked up more than 340million views on TikTok, if you can believe that.
Just witness the way stunning 5ft 10in actress Zendaya looks at her 5ft 8in partner Tom Holland on the red carpet.
Personally, I think it is great that shorter men are getting their moment in the spotlight, not least because it’s personality that matters most.
I’M sorry but I had to laugh looking at photos of the new swimsuit that some women – but not me – will allegedly be wearing this year.
The one-piece swimsuit from Shein has leg holes cut right up to the ribs.
Unsurprisingly, since there is so little fabric, it costs a mere £4.
It is described on the firm’s website as “sexy” but I would beg to differ.
To me it looks like a female version of the mankini made famous by Borat.
A pair of bikini knickers has more material than this.
Read More on The Sun
Quite apart from the way it looks, it is clearly the antithesis of comfort.
Apologies for getting graphic but you would spend 99 per cent of your time at the beach dealing with the world’s biggest wedgie.
