In an apparent attempt to gain public sympathy, former Home Secretary David Blunkett has said that his affair with a married woman left him on the "brink of insanity".

If he was any ordinary person, even a politician, then I'd probably feel sorry for him. But Blunkett wasn't an ordinary person - he was Home Secretary with responsibility for protecting our freedom, safety and way of life. He says himself:

"I was barely sleeping and yet I was being asked to sign Government warrants in the middle of the night"

More importantly he was also presiding over some of the most dangerous, illiberal and shamelessly authoritarian policies the UK has seen for over 50 years.

What does his revelation say about the wisdom of those policies? Do we want to keep the 1300 new offences brought in by a man who had spent the last 10 years wondering if it was worth getting up in the mornings and who was going through the acrimonious breakdown of a secret, illicit relationship? What does his state of mind say about his pet scheme to impose ID Cards and a vast, intrusive National Identity Register (NIR)?

And what does it say about the judgement of a Prime Minister who continues to champion those policies today?

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