Three big losers were identified after the Speaker's long-awaited statement to the Commons about the Damian Green affair. They were Jill Pay, the Serjeant-at-Arms, the police, and Michael Martin himself.

Mr Martin, his voice faltering, gave MPs the bombshell news that Ms Pay, on being told that the police wanted to search Mr Green's office, did not tell them that they needed a warrant to do so and instead signed a consent form. The question being asked: was why on earth did Ms Pay not seek advice before agreeing to the search?

Then the police. As Mr Martin made plain neither he, nor Ms Pay nor anyone else could have stopped them entering the precincts of Westminster if they had followed the proper procedures.

Parliamentary privilege does not extend to the offices of MPs and if the police have a reason to search them than can. So why did the police not follow the correct process and go barging in? Can their inquiry survive the fact that it is to be the subject of a full scale debate next Monday?

And finally Mr Martin himself. It was hard to avoid the impression – despite his manifold expressions of regret – that he was trying to put the blame elsewhere.

Ms Pay must be feeling this afternoon that she has had the ground cut from under her. She told Mr Martin twice about the imminent arrest. Why did he himself not take advice and tell her to tell the police that they needed a warrant? Did he ask questions?

Mr Martin made an awful lot of the warrant; it was at least open to doubt that the police were breaking any rules by not getting one, although he said it was an obligation them to tell Ms Pay that she did not have to sign a consent form.

This affair has now split down party lines. Labour believes that the Conservatives have been blustering to avoid scrutiny of the fact that Mr Green was knowingly using a serving official to elicit embarrassing secrets from Whitehall.

The Conservatives believe that the trail leads back to the anger of Mr Brown, himself an inveterate leaker in his day, and other ministers that they are losing control of the information machine. Somehow or other, they are convinced, this heavy handed treatment of one of their front-benchers can be laid at the door of the Government.

Mr Martin has drawn the sting by promising a debate and an august committee of seven wise MPs to report on the affair. With Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, in trouble for apparently prejudging the police inquiry, this saga is set to run and run.

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