Peter Dunne's full of surprises.
Of all the politicians in the House, who'd have thought he'd be the one to speak up in defence of the St Margaret's girls, banned from their leavers' dinner after attempting an undie run through Christ's College earlier this week.
Undie runs have
been an end-of-year tradition in the south for years, apparently. But the girls from St Margaret's were told that this year the tradition was coming to an end, and the girls were to keep their kit on or suffer the consequences.
Twelve girls chose to ignore that edict and were nabbed by Christ's College staff as they turned up at their brother school - much to the chagrin of the boys, no doubt.
The girls have now been banned from their end-of-school celebrations and they're bemoaning their fate publicly. And they've found an unlikely supporter in Peter Dunne. He says the tradition of undie runs has been going on for years in good spirits, and the heavy-handed treatment of the girls is political correctness gone mad.
He warns that unless these free spirits are able to express themselves in such a way, they'll rebel in a more destructive manner. His enthusiasm for undie runs comes from his youth - apparently, in his day, he may have participated in the odd one or two. And there's an image to conjure up on a Sunday morning - Peter Dunne in his tighty whiteys sprinting through the hallowed halls of St Margaret's, being hotly pursued by shrieking girls. It's like something out of Benny Hill.
It's a shame for the girls - I've got a daughter leaving school this year and I know how important the leavers' dinners are as a full stop to school life - but nothing like getting one last lesson in before you leave the classroom forever.
For every action, there will be a consequence.
