The remarks, which carry weight given Sir Lindsay’s position, could be taken into account by the Procedure Committee as it considers rule changes in the New Year.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle: Proxy voting should be extended to seriously ill MPs

Throughout the interview, granted to look back on a year of major challenges for Parliament, Sir Lindsay showed the same willingness to speak with a candour rare in other politicians.

First elected Labour MP for Chorley in 1997, Sir Lindsay was picked by colleagues to take over from John Bercow in November 2019, resigning his party membership as is custom.

The two years that followed have been defined by turbulence – first the Brexit crunch and then the pandemic upheaval, not to mention a shock diabetes diagnosis that risked his life.

Sir Lindsay has taken pride in how Parliament has managed to stay open continuously, despite the threat from Covid-19, and praised the “inspirational” staff on site for the achievement.

He suspects that the pandemic procedure changes, which saw MPs able to vote remotely and contribute to debates via video feed, have had a liberating effect that has fuelled MP rebellions – some of which have dogged Downing Street.

“It is interesting, isn’t it, because MPs then become free spirits,” he said.

“They speak when they’re not being asked to put their name in [for debates], they decide what they want to do.

“And of course, when it comes to votes, it’s very hard to control the vote when they can vote offline without being spoken to.

“So what was a parliamentary system that we made work then became a nightmare for the whips of all parties.”

Most of the rule changes reverted to normal this summer after the success of the vaccine rollout. However, Sir Lindsay wants one to be relooked at – proxy voting, which allows MPs to vote remotely.

The method proved controversial when it was found that some MPs cast votes while at Euro 2020 football matches or in the Caribbean.