During and after the Olympics some commentators expressed distaste that politicians were falling over themselves to be associated with various gold-medal winners.

The basic idea seemed to be that these grubby low-lifes had no right to be anywhere near the likes of Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington and the rest of the victorious Team GB.

I actually believe  - and I think I can be pretty confident that this isn’t the most universally-held  of views – that politicians are generally at least as good, if not better, role-models than elite sportsmen and women.

The vast majority of politicians put themselves forward because they believe, however wrongly in the case of Scottish Labour, that that they can make a difference;  that they can genuinely improve the lives of  their fellow citizens.

For this they have to subject themselves to a generally unforgiving environment. Imagine in your job having to ask people every four or five years if they want you to continue and facing the prospect of a very public vote of no confidence and loss of employment.

If they do succeed they face routine public scorn and a hostile press. Alastair Campbell can be a hard man to like (especially for an SNP supporter) but his general analysis of political journalism is spot-on.  The obsession with gaffes, alleged humiliations, character assassinations and on-going hunts for resignations make any kind of reasoned deliberation a tough task.

But that’s why the behaviour of people like Tony McNulty is so infuriating. He may not have broken any rules but he’s confirmed so many negative opinions about politicians and makes it  almost impossible for those of us who want to defend them.

In a classic New Labour tactic, Gordon Brown has now called for a review of MPs allowances in an attempt to control the story. But this kind of thing doesn’t work anymore.

Mr McNulty should just hand the money back and issue an apology. It won’t make any difference but at least it would be the right thing to do.