Back from a week in Israel to the LibDems in chaos, first over Mark Oaten and now over Simon Hughes.

I loathe Hughes. I think his politics are awful and I find his manner intensely annoying. He fought a contemptible campaign against Peter Tatchell in the Bermondsey byelection.

But even more than I loathe Hughes, I loathe the repugnant gloating and accusations which have followed his 'admission' that he is gay.

Yes, he lied. And lying is wrong. But he lied in response to an a question which he should never have had to answer in the first place. It is no one's business but his own whether or not he is gay.

As if the reaction to the Oaten story - which has destroyed the career of an able man and has, one imagines, probably destroyed a family, too - was not bad enough, the reaction to Hughes' decision to out himself leaves a foul taste on my return.