By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent
Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans will be back at Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday, despite the sex allegations hanging over him.
But he appears to have spared John Bercow a tough decision by asking the Speaker to be excused from chairing the Commons debates on the Queen's Speech.
"Nigel will be returning to Westminster this week as planned," his office said on his behalf.
"However, as an inevitable added time pressure has been placed upon him at this time, he has asked the Speaker to be excused chairing duties for the debate on the Queen's Speech, and the Speaker has kindly agreed."
So Mr Evans will not be in the Speaker's chair on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of next week - yes, the Commons has a rare Friday sitting - or Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week.
Also easing the pressure on the Ribble Valley MP, who has been bailed until June 19, is the fact that the Commons rises for its Whitsun recess on May 21 and MPs do not return until June 3. Yes, yet another break for MPs.
As Deputy Speaker, Mr Evans has no formal role in the State Opening and is not required to join the procession of MPs from the Commons to the Lords to hear the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.
But according to MPs who are close friends, he is determined to carry on representing his Ribble Valley constituents as normal and wants to fulfil his duties in the Speaker's Chair after a short break.
Before Mr Evans issued his statement, his supporters were concerned that Mr Bercow may, on the advice of Commons clerks and lawyers, ask him to step aside while the police investigation continues.
Nigel Evans in his role as Deputy Speaker in the House of Commons But Mr Evans' backers - who include Labour as well as Conservative MPs - were warning that if Mr Bercow did ask him to take a break there could be a furious backlash against the Speaker.
"Nigel was elected by House of Commons for a five-year term and so is accountable to the House, not the Speaker," said one of Mr Evans' leading supporters.
"The advice he is getting from his friends is to carry on as normal. And at the moment that is what he intends to do."
Some of Mr Evans' friends in the Commons were worried, though, about the pressure he would have been under if he continued in the Speaker's chair without a break.
"If I were Nigel, I'd take a week off," one close friend said before Mr Evans' announcement.
Some of Mr Evans' supporters believe the statement issued by the Deputy Speaker was the result of a behind the scenes deal.
Mr Bercow is understood to have consulted the Clerk of the House, the bearded Captain Birdseye lookalike Robert Rogers, about whether he should ask Mr Evans to take a break from the Chair.
John Bercow is the Speaker in Parliament "It's pure speculation, but I wonder if it was suggested to Nigel that it would look better in PR terms if he requested time off rather than being told to by John Bercow," one MP said.
Mr Evans is one of three deputy speakers, sharing duties with Labour MPs Lindsay Hoyle - a fellow north west MP - and former Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo.
The Speaker's team has coped with absences in the past without calling on another MP to help out. Dawn Primarolo was away for three months earlier this year having a hip operation and so Mr Evans and Mr Hoyle sat in the Chair for longer stints.
And when Mr Bercow's predecessor, Michael Martin, had heart surgery in 2006, the senior Deputy Speaker, Sir Alan Haselhurst, stood in at Question Time and he and the other deputies, Michael Lord and Sylvia Heal increased their workload.
The reaction from MPs to news of Mr Evans' arrest has been overwhelmingly supportive. Among his backers are Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who was accused of a sex assault two years ago and then police dropped their inquiry a week later.
"Fortunately in this country we have a rule that says you are innocent until proven guilty and I think that should be maintained," Mr Bridgen told Sky News.
"I personally think that Nigel should be able to continue as Deputy Speaker while the police, quite rightly, carry on with their investigations."
Deal or no deal, Mr Evans now won't be continuing in the Chair throughout the police investigation. But he can be assured of a warm welcome from MPs when he returns to Westminster on Wednesday.
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