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It shows Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman and some of his associates being lavished with praise by city Labour politicians for helping with the election campaign in May.

They included Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, Jon Ashworth, who later that day was declared the new Leicester South MP, and Sir Peter Soulsby who was later voted in as elected mayor. Several of Labour’s city councillors are in attendance.

When I first highlighted this video in the summer I had to dance around Mr Rahman’s background.

I can be slightly more blunt this morning. The PCC has ruled that describing him as an “extremist-backed” politician, with “close links” to an extremist Islamic organisation, is “not misleading”. He denies the links.

Ask your local Labour politician whether they were aware of these claims when he joined them on the campaign trail…

“Andrew Bridgen MP vigorously denies any allegations of wrongdoing. He has willingly cooperated with the police and is not going to make any further comment while the police are investigating. Because of the high level of media interest, Mr Bridgen has decided to stay in London until at least next Friday and, as a result, regrettably, this afternoon’s surgery at Whtwick Community Coffee Shop has been postponed.”

Downing Street can breathe a sigh of relief over Baroness Warsi. Not only has Alan Johnson’s resignation knocked the Islamophobia story down the agenda, but she also told me yesterday that she’d ruled out joining Twitter.

The social networking site has been the downfall of so many politicians, but Warsi told me: “It’s very Westminster-bubble, I don’t think it’s for me.”

As she headed out of the Mercury building in the lift, I told her that if she did join Twitter Downing Street spinners would have palpitations.

She looked at me, puzzled, and asked why. She genuinely doesn’t seem to realise that she’s seen by many as a loose cannon.

It’s little wonder. No matter what is said about her in the media, it appears that most of it passes her by. It also takes a lot to rattle her. Bombarding her with questions on her judgement for half an hour didn’t phase her at all, and in the end it was a pretty blunt question that hit her between her eyes:

As a peer who’s never been elected to public office, with a vague cabinet position and a track record of controversies ranging from your comments on Islam to campaign literature on Section 28, are you the best person to start a national debate on such a sensitive subject?

Her voice dipped, eyes widened for half a second, before responding quietly: “Yes I think I am.”

I don’t think I’ve ever had a crowd turn on me, but it happened yesterday.

David Cameron visited Leicestershire and his first stop was at the LCB Depot in the city. I turned up and was told to wait in reception for a spinner to find me and escort me through to meet the PM.

In the meantime I met Gary Garner, city council Unison man, and followed him through to a bustling room towards the rear of the main building out of curiosity.

In it were around 20-30 people, who suddenly surrounded me and demanded that I write a story about David Cameron “refusing to meet them”.

I tried to point out that he’s the Prime Minister on an official visit, not a councillor at a ward surgery at the local community centre. You can’t just pop along and ask for a chat. I wondered what on earth they were thinking? Where did they get the idea from? There wasn’t some halcyon period when Gordon Brown waved in all comers to discuss domestic policy. Why did they expect Cameron to?

Many were union members, a couple of them were homeless, and a couple were children.

The two primary school age youngsters were jabbed towards me. “They want to ask him why they can’t go to university anymore,” someone barked in my ear. I racked my brains, trying to recall the news story which stated that the coalition had now banned children from going to university. I failed.

I also didn’t have time to establish whether the coalition was about to be blamed for the homeless status of the two men who were sat at a table in the middle, as I urgently had to return to the reception area to be taken through some secured doors.

I told the crowd I’d give Gary a call at some point to discuss the issue. A man came up to me and said: “It’s more than just Unison, there’s the whole umbrella of local unions.” He reeled off a list of acronyms which most people, including me, would struggle to identify without some elaboration.

I began to leave. A woman barked after me: “Corporate media. Look at him, he’s scared of us. Corporate media.” The assembled crowd murmured in agreement.

I wasn’t scared, but I was left stunned at the attitude of some of those present. They returned to the windows for a glimpse of the PM as I was whisked away.

Their demands for an impromptu audience with the most powerful man in the country still rang in my ears…

The former Tory chief whip will join Oona King and Michael Grade on the red benches.

Congratulations, Dave, now could you hurry up and sell me your domain name please?

Full list of new peers here.

South Leicestershire Tory MP Andrew Robathan has gone on the offensive against The Sun (which backed the Conservatives at the General Election).

Outgoing deputy political editor of the Evening Standard, Paul Waugh, picks up the story:

“I am an avid reader of your blog, as I am sure many others are also. You really do have plenty of people guessing at some of your sources…”

Flattering, but unfortunately things will be quiet around here for the next five days. I’m out of Leicester for a few days, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Leicestershire has three ‘fresher’ MPs in this Parliament, and the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts has some sound advice to all newly-elected Parliamentarians.

Discussing “throwback” Jacob Rees-Mogg he wrote:

Jacob has put in plenty of hours in the Commons. He has sat at the far end, watching, learning.

He has not asked patsy questions. He has not been a blowhard.

He has kept his distance from ministers and is a lesson to Westminster’s stooges and government grovellers and soundbite-spouting careerists.

All power to his angular elbow.

It’s worth reading the full article here.