Why won’t Cameron criticise (or sack) the man he was sat next to at PMQs?

It’s a shame that no Labour MPs decided to use one of their scripted questions to ask about the vile views of the Welsh Secretary David Jones today. Less than two weeks ago he said:

“I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same sex partners can’t do.”

So far the Prime Minister hasn’t publicly criticised the Welsh Secretary or asked him to apologise. In fact, we’re not sure that he’s made any comment about the disgraceful comments of the Welsh Secretary at all. The most we can find is a Downing Street source saying:

“Gay marriage and gay adoption are both conscience issues and, as such, have been treated as free votes. The Prime Minister is a supporter of both.”

That’s neither a criticism or an admonishment of Jones, whose views have been quite rightly described as hate speech. So Mr Cameron, here’s a question for you to ponder about the man you were sat next to this afternoon:

• Are you comfortable having someone with such bigoted views in your cabinet?
• And why are you too afraid to criticise him – or sack him? Is it because many of your backbenchers feel the same…?