Police "intrusion" shakes ancient customs

On Wednesday, the minister in charge of the Commons failed to support Martin when asked to do so during a television interview, making his position look all the more tenuous.

Yet removing the speaker of the Commons -- something MPs would have to do themselves -- is extremely difficult and doing so would itself raise constitutional questions.

Martin is sitting tight and perhaps thankful that parliament has moved on from the 15th and 16th centuries, when speakers were frequently executed -- six in 60 years.

In the meantime, the case at the heart of the affair has almost become a sideline. Conservative MP Damian Green is accused of having leaked sensitive government information, prompting the search of his office and his arrest.

A debate on his seizure, and about who in the government might have known about it, when and why, was held on Thursday, with the interior minister, Jacqui Smith, being harangued by MPs upset by what they see as heavy-handed government behaviour.

In the background, Martin could be heard trying to keep the raucous debate in control, occasionally calling "Order! Order!," but many MPs, especially those on the opposition benches, appeared to ignore his appeals.

Looking to give some backing to the assailed speaker, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped forward to tell journalists that he had "a great deal of confidence" in Martin.

(Reporting by Luke Baker)