UKIP's New Candidate Once Got So Drunk In The Commons He Missed A Vote

    "I don’t know what came over me," he said. "It was a long day and I’d had a very early breakfast meeting."

    This is Mark Reckless, who has just quit as a Conservative MP and defected to UKIP. Here's a fun fact: He once got so drunk that he thought he would be better off not voting in the Commons.

    Here's the story: four years ago, Conservative MPs were being made to stay after hours until the end of a debate to vote on a crucial decision on the Budget.

    It's believed Reckless, at this point only two months into the job, was so drunk that he fell on the floor of a bar in the Commons and was helped into a cab by fellow MPs, and therefore missed the vote that eventually took place at 2:07am.

    But before he was ushered out, MPs were reported to have spent time laughing at him as he struggled to open the door to the bar. It turned out he was blocking it with his foot.

    He told The Mail on Sunday: "I don't know what came over me. It was a long day and I'd had a very early breakfast meeting."

    It is believed that he no longer drinks.