Cleggy risking a lot

James Kirkup has written up Nick Clegg's Lisbon Treaty lobby briefing from earlier today, and the LibDem leader ain't budging:

Yes, he's put his MPs on a three line whip not to vote at all when the Commons decides on a Tory bid for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

  

But no, he won't say if he'll sack the (significant) number of front-benchers who may well defy him on that: "I'm allowed to decide at that time." 

And no, he (probably) won't allow his side to back a clever two-question amendment being worked up by Ian Davidson, a Labour rebel, which might just have given him a get-out:  "We certainly aren't getting into game-playing."

Ah, no game-playing. So any suggestion that LibDems have a carefully-staged walkout on the Commons vote is completely out of...Oh.