Philip Webster, Political Editor of The Times, examines Charles Clarke's version of ministerial responsibility and says that the row over the release of foreign prisoners has seen David Cameron's best parliamentary performance:

"Charles Clarke, with the Prime Minister's support is maintaining that yes, he is responsible as Home Secretary for the fiasco that has occurred in his department, but that he intends to exercise that responsibility by putting it right.

"Between them they've provided a version of ministerial responsibility of that allows him to stay in office despite having admitted being the one who is ultimately responsible for all these problems.

"Whether that will hold remains to be seen. Mr Clarke is under massive pressure from all the opposition parties and, of course, the press, to go. But that doesn't always mean that ministers do go - it's not long since Ruth Kelly and Tessa Jowell were in the same situation and both are still in office.

"Charles Clarke's problem is that this is such an obvious failing that is so understandable to every member of the public that it might be hard for some to accept why he is being allowed to stay.

"In simple terms the Home Secretary is being blamed by the public for letting out dangerous foreign criminals, but that is obviously not true, in the sense that it was not his personal mistake.

"Labour MPs like Charles Clarke and none, as far as I know, is calling for him to go. But privately they admit that it's a huge problem and all it would take is a case of one of these ex-prisoners released without consideration of deportation to have carried out a serious offence for the pressure to be back on him

"His performance in the House today aroused some sympathy - he put his hands up and said, 'Look, it's all my fault.' But David Cameron also had his best Prime Minister's Questions yet.

"For the first time on an issue of topical significance, he skewered Tony Blair. It's been a long time since I've seen the Prime Minister looking as uncomfortable in the House and he left very quickly afterwards.

"He was forced to admit that he had not been aware of the latest figures. David Cameron forced him to admit that that 288 of them had happened after ministers became aware of the problem. He defended Mr Clarke, but you could see from his face that this was a very bad day for the Government."

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