Today’s session in Strasbourg was briefly interrupted by UKIP staging a walk out during a vote on a resolution on the future of the EU’s “Period of Reflection” on the Constitutional Treaty, with their departure warmly applauded by MEPs intent on doing some proper parliamentary work.

UKIP’s website claims their MEPs exited when the “Committee on Legal Affairs was presenting to Parliament the Commission's proposal for re-activating the EU Constitution” – wrong on all counts (not a Commission proposal, not presented by the Legal Affairs Committee, and not proposing to “re-activate” the constitution).

It is quite shocking that even after two years in the European Parliament, that UKIP members still don't even have the slightest notion of how Parliament works in general or of the Rules of Procedure in particular - yet are very quick to accuse everyone else of violating the procedures.

They claimed that the Parliament was violating its own procedural Rule 35, which refers to "Commission proposals and other documents of a legislative nature". A resolution addressed to the European Council is obviously neither of these things. If their MEPs are unable to distinguish, one of their Group's many assistants should be able to advise them – but that would assume that they recruit their staff on the basis of competence rather than on the basis of the degree of xenophobia necessary to be a member of their party.