Chris Moncrieff: Letwin plan means that the Brexit battle is set to rage on, and the seemingly endless confusion

Everybody was expecting that, after the first vote in the Commons on Saturday, the Brexit row would subside and eventually disappear. But Sir Oliver’s amendment to that motion means the battle continues to rage.

This is the last thing, I would imagine, that anyone wanted — Leavers and Remainers alike. But Sir Oliver, who has quit the Conservative Party and now sits as an independent, has underlined that there is nothing simple about Brexit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been forced to write a letter to the EU authorities explaining the position — but to his credit he sees no point in continuing the row, as one MP has said, to kingdom come.

Let’s hope that common sense will prevail, and that before too long Brexit could be a thing of the past. However, the prospect of that seems remote ...

l Sir Oliver, a diminutive Old Etonian, has in the past covered himself with comedy rather than glory.

When he was in David Cameron’s cabinet, the then prime minister would apparently use him as a messenger boy, checking on train times. On another occasion, Sir Oliver promised that the Conservatives would spend more money on services than they actually did. As a result, the party hid him away for a while.

He also once allowed two burglars into his home, after they approached before dawn and asked to use his lavatory. Another time, he was caught throwing away confidential letters from his constituents into bins in London’s St James’s Park.

People used to wonder what the point of Sir Oliver was in parliament - and some still do.

l The Brexit debate has led to the rise as shadow Brexit secretary of Sir Keir Starmer, who spoke at length during Saturday’s debate, even though most MPs were not so greedy.

It was too lawyerly for most people’s taste, as well as being largely incomprehensible to the layman.

Sir Keir is rapidly gaining a reputation as the rightful successor to former Labour chief Lord Kinnock, who was and still is regarded as the windbag of the Labour Party.

l The scenes of members of Extinction Rebellion climbing on to the roofs of train carriages, and seriously inconveniencing commuters, were met in some quarters by sympathetic comments. It was claimed that this action was non-violent.

But, when pictures were shown of one protester being dragged off the top of a carriage by a frustrated commuter, there were cries of ‘ugly’ and ‘unacceptable’ Where is the fair play in that?