MARK Francois

has been found guilty of violating Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone’s code of conduct for MPs. She polices parliamentary behaviour and has concluded the former Tory Minister was guilty of abusing rules when wielding his wayward felt tip pen.

The violation concerns a letter the heavyweight Brexiteer wrote to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on parliamentary headed paper last summer. Before Francois backed down, Stone was forced into a tussle with the Essex MP, who wrongly believed he was entitled to use Commons stationery when making a personal response as chair of the European Research Group.

Forced to submit to Stone’s ruling, Francois initially offered a non-apology. His lack of contrition was inadequate, the Commissioner responded, which led to a more grovelling follow-up from the chastened MP. When under pressure, Francois also implicated other MPs who he claimed had committed similar errors of judgment. Nice!