As a GP, I see a lot of patients with stress. From all walks of working life, including professionals. Nadine Dorries has been roundly criticised for suggesting the MPs are now under so much pressure that there could be a suicide. They have brought it upon themselves, you may say, and so they have. But the atmosphere that has been whipped up over three weeks by the Daily Telegraph is resembling the Salem witch hunts. The public are baying for blood. Some MPs are more culpable than others. There may be an underlying political agenda. Can someone explain why Mr & Mrs Balls been given such a soft ride when Julie Kirkbride and her husband have not? Can any MP now get a fair hearing from the media?

Today, Iain Dale mounts a defence of Tory MP, Julie Kirkbride.  Or maybe it is more a plea in mitigation than a defence.  You decide. But, whatever it is, it is persuasive. It would be even more persuasive if Iain were to write a similar post about a Labour MP. After all, this should not be a party political matter. It affects all MPs.