David Maddox: SNP ride to the Speaker's defence?

You can tell we're heading into the yuletide period because this is a remarkably sparce Sunday for politics.
The two main political items in the Sunday papers were Lord Mandelson's attempts to bully the Merger Action Group to drop their case against the Lloyds/ HBOS deal and Speaker Michael Martin insisting that he intends to "go on and on" in his current position despite the the fiasco over the arrest of Tory MP Damien Green.
We all know what happened to the Iron Lady when she announced she would go on and on, but it seems Speaker Martin is getting some support from surprising quarters.
On Friday I had lunch with Angus Robertson, the SNP's leader in Westminster. Now we all know that there is little love lost between Scottish Labour and the Nationalists, both parties would rather work with the Tories than with each other.
But, whilst acknowledginging Mr Martin is in deep trouble, Mr Robertson launched a stoic defence of the embattled Speaker whom he said had been the victim of a long class driven campaign by snobs who resented a boy from the back streets of Glasgow taking one of the highest offices in the land.
He also said that unlike some previous Speakers, Michael Martin always called the Nationalists to speak on statements and gave them a very fair hearing in the Commons. Added to that he said he was wonderful at conducting parliamentary events for visitors adding a really personal and moving touch to them.
In a weekend where a Labour MP has called for his resignation, it appears Mr Martin may then have friends in some less than expected paces.

David Maddox: Holyrood and the police

Not to be outdone by their colleagues in Westminster, we have just learnt at the back end of First Minister's questions that MSP want their own protacol on when and how police should be allowed to search their offices and arrest them.
This is of course MSPs trying to spread the continuing furor over the arrest of Damien Green, the Tories' immigration, spokesman by the Old Bill in Westminster.
In the exhanges with labour leader Iain Gray, First Minister Alex Salmond made a quip about how his Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, will not be calling in the police to arrest oppositon MSPs. The unspoken meaning was "unlike the Labour government in Westminster."
Mike Rumbles, the Lib Dems' chief whip in Holyrood, made a point of order at the end of FMQs repeating a request he made to Alex Fergusson, the Presiding Officer, that he should make a statement and issue his guidance, as was done by Speaker Michael Martin yesterday.
Apparently Mr Fergusson is considering the matter.
There was a further intervention by former Labour First minister Jack McConnell asking that the guidance is given as a statement to the full parliament.