Lord Bonkers' Diary: How I first met Paddy Ashdown

Lord Bonkers once shared with me his theory that Paddy Ashdown had been planted on the Liberal Party by the intelligence service. "As he was so much more effective than anybody we came up with, we made him leader."

Friday

Sad news from Somerset: Sir Paddy Ashplant is unwell. I still recall with pleasure our first meeting, at Bonkers House in Belgrave Square, which I shared in these diaries when he stood down as Liberal Democrat leader:

Shortly preceded by a stun grenade and an impressive quantity of smoke, he had burst in through the French windows. After I had picked myself off the floor, dusted down the butler and pointed out that he probably wanted the embassy next door, he was all apologies. 

This, I reflected even then, was the sort of chap one could do with on one's side in a closely fought by-election.

As they so often do, the passing years proved the rightness of my judgement.

This afternoon I wandered into St Asquith’s and said a prayer for Paddy. Let us hope he is soon restored to rude health.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10,