They are perhaps guidelines rather than "rules". The British constitution is a flexible thing. Either way, parliament had made it clear that privilege should be used very carefully where legal matters are concerned and that its members should avoid challenging the authority of the courts. It will be for the parliamentary authorities to decide whether and how Hain should be disciplined.

As has already been pointed out several times, since the point of the court case was to decide whether or not the Telegraph could publish and reveal Green's identity, since Hain put his name in the public domain there would be little point in proceeding with it. The court has therefore been denied the opportunity to consider the matter, and possibly to clarify the law.

And while I am repeating myself yet again, can I again point out that this is not about defending Green. It is not that his name has been made public that I am concerned about, but the manner and timing of it.