Paddy the spy

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has been named as an MI6 agent.

This will come as no great surprise to anyone who was active in the old Liberal Party. It was widely rumoured when Ashdown was first elected as an MP in 1983.

And you don't need much imagination to work out that a former special forces officer who joins the diplomatic service may be involved in intelligence.

Come to think of it, this background was one of Ashdown's most appealing features. He certainly had more go than the Liberal leader of those days, David Steel.