It took Ivan Cameron's death to make us realise MPs are human

And their courage in having two other children, Arthur and Nancy, despite the risk of Ivan's rare condition recurring speaks volumes for their courage.

But this sad story has done more than illuminate the qualities that we so rarely hear spoken of in public in this country.

They have - for a moment, at least - given us a new view of the whole political class.

We have become accustomed to view our politicians, from all parties, as cynical shysters motivated by vanity and self-interest.

This is because we have watched them develop into a battalion of political lifers who have never done a "real" job or had to survive in the "real" world.

We regard them as skilled only in the ways of manipulation and misinformation.

The death of Ivan Cameron has revealed something very different in terms of warmth, humanity and genuine emotion.

The loss impacted so powerfully on our awkward, usually distant Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, that his remarks to the House of Commons on the bereavement are regarded by some as revealing him at his most genuine ever in public.

For once, then, the inhabitants of Westminster were shown to be human, rather more like the rest of us than we realised.

What a tragedy that it took the death of a child to produce this revelation.

And what a pity that in a week's time they will all be back to their unsavoury business as usual.