David Maddox: No place on the Tory front bench for Scotland

David Cameron and the Conservatives have been painfully aware of their lack of support north of the Border. In a radio interview recently Mr Cameron admitted his party would not win many seats, even though they are targeting 11.

For this reason Mr Cameron and his party (at least in Scotland) have been keen to promote the so-called "respect agenda" should they win power in the UK without much of a Scottish mandate.

The details of this are well known and often repeated - ministers regularly visiting, an annual PMQs with MSPs, post Pre-Budget and Budget briefings, the Scottish Secretary giving a verbal report to MSPs on the implications of the Queen's Speech etc.

But respect needs to be symbolic as well, which brings us on to the last Scottish questions in the Commons before the election. This was my second since transferring from Holyrood to Westminster and today, like the last time, it was noticeable that shadow Scottish Secretary David Mundell (pictured) was shunted off the front bench to make way for other (more senior) colleagues for PMQs which followed immediately afterwards. today he was shifted before Scottish questions had even finished.

On both occasions poor Mr Mundell was forced to sit awkwardly on the steps between the back benches.

In comparison Jim Murphy remained on the Labour front bench throughout PMQs.

The sight of the frontbencher responsible for Scottish affairs being pushed aside so unceremoniously is not exactly the sort of respectful image for Scotland that the Tories have been so keen to claim is their own.

David Maddox: And the prize for the fastest Andy Murray press release....

....goes to the Tories who managed to get their words of commiseration out less than five minutes after Murray's 3:1 defeat to Andy Roddick.

Murray's "an inspiration" Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie said.

Labour's arrived a whole seven minutes later.

"Murray's done us proud," said Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, who' s known some defeats in his time.

The Scottish Government one took another 21 minutes.

"Andy has made Scotland proud," said First Minister Alex Salmond

Still waiting for the SNP party and Lib Dem ones, but more to follow no doubt.

However, the prize for the silliest political argument of the day and probably the year is over the alleged claims by Mr Salmond that he could have won Wimbledon if he had trained a bit harder.

"This is the time that you get out there and say, 'if only'. If I'd worked as hard as Andy Murray then who knows, but I may take the odd swing and certainly if Andy wins there'll be a few balls going in the air," he told a well known state funded broadcaster ahead of the semi-final.

This may come as a surprise to those who think his current athletic physique is more suited to a specialist form of wrestling in Japan.

But, true to form, Labour put out a press release attacking the First Minister in the name of former sports minister Frank McAveety.

"Alex Salmond's ego knows no bounds," said Mr McAveety, who apparently had to pick himself up off the floor for laughing. "If he is not going round America comparing himself to Thomas Jefferson he is claiming that, with more practice, he could have been Wimbledon champion. The First Minister is fast becoming the Walter Mitty of Scottish politics."

The SNP think the joke is on Labour for failing to understand that the First Minister's quotes were a light hearted joke.

A spokesman for the First Minister suggested that Frank McAveety "should get a life."