WE all love to see a rat squirm - and millions tuned in to see a squirming rat on Have I Got News For You last night.

But let us not fall into the trap of feeling remotely sorry for Angus Deayton, who was ensnared by the News of the World for taking drugs and having sex with a prostitute.

Yes, he took a taste of his own medicine. Yes, he took it on the chin. But it wasn't a question of taking it like a man - he had no choice.

As someone who makes a living from sarcastic put-downs of those in the public eye, there was only one place for Deayton to be last night - on our television screens.

No, this was not some act of bravery or humility. He had to be slaughtered in exactly that satirical television programme, leaving his personal credibility in tatters.

Angus Deayton, who in truth is little more than a competent autocue reader, may feel he's got the hardest bit over with, but he hasn't. He may have found it difficult to grin and bear it as Paul Merton and Ian Hislop taunted him.

But he'll surely find it a lot harder to convince his partner Lise Meyer, the woman who is so far standing by him, that he is worthy of her loyalty.

She will find it extremely hard to ever trust him again - just as the viewers of Have I Got News For You will find it hard to accept his smug, superior face as he dishes the dirt on his victims of the future.