FANS of political nostalgia will remember well the 2018 social-media frenzy over whether Jeremy Corbyn had called Theresa May a “stupid woman” during Prime Minister’s Questions. Mr Corbyn insisted he had actually muttered “stupid people” but his denial did little to quash the coverage and commentary the story provoked.

Every newspaper and media outlet had its own analysis of the event from those proficient in lip reading. Tory MPs were outraged and the “did-he-or-didn’t-he?” question was the subject of numerous intemperate points of order in the House of Commons.

Whether it is in terms of procedure or voting mechanisms, we all know the Scottish Parliament runs more efficiently than its Westminster counterpart. That our own recent Muttergate was unambiguous and required no army of lip-reading experts was very on-brand.

It’s patently obvious what Alex Cole-Hamilton said while on mute during a Zoom committee meeting this week. His “f*ck you, Maree” was as clear as the anger with which he said it.

READ MORE: LibDem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton appears to swear during committee meeting

Even during a pandemic, when nerves are frayed and none of us are at our best, it is a wholly unacceptable way to behave towards a colleague. It doesn’t matter that the meeting wasn’t in person: this isn’t a case of an MSP opting to wear jogging bottoms while working remotely or a pet or small child straying into shot. What would be a serious matter for HR in an office (or a Parliament) is still serious outwith those settings, regardless of whether the people involved were sitting behind a screen at the time.

I don’t know what Alex Cole-Hamilton was thinking when he verbally abused the mild-mannered Maree Todd. Was he not aware he could still be seen while the voting was taking place? Perhaps not. Regardless, as soon as the video was published by this paper’s website it was clear that he would have to apologise.

And apologise he did. Sort of.

A wee bit.

Some people are good at apologising and some or not. Ironically, it is usually those who have cause to apologise the most frequently that seem to be the worst at it.

For something that is remarkably straightforward, it is very telling when people fail to execute an apology properly. It should go without saying that if you are saying sorry it has to be sincere and genuine. There is no point in apologising for something if you don’t actually mean it. Nor if you believe that your actions don’t warrant an apology.

In his apology to Maree Todd, posted on Twitter on Saturday night, it was clear which camp Alex Cole-Hamilton fell into. He posted: “Hands up, I lost my temper here. I was frustrated by your government backsliding on children’s rights once again (as long-grassing UNCRC incorporation would have been). Nevertheless I muttered something under my breath that I shouldn’t have and I apologise.’’

Blaming your female colleague for making you angry in what is meant to be an apology to her doesn’t quite cut it. Having disagreements about policy – including the pace and timeline of implementing that policy – is a routine part of an MSP’s work. “F*ck you” is not a normal response to disagreement in a professional setting. We shouldn’t let the rough and tumble of politics fool us into believing it is.

“Sorry that you made me do it” is not an apology. It’s a linguistic trick, and a disrespectful one at that. It’s also one that voters don’t take kindly to. It’s not difficult to spot faux regret and that’s exactly what this is.

On social media, the majority of responses were critical of Mr Cole-Hamilton’s unprofessional behaviour and the subsequent apology. But some people congratulated him for being “big enough” to apologise.

READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: Does being a LibDem mean never having to say you're sorry?

Good grief. We set an extremely low bar if politicians are praised for taking the time to compose a half-arsed tweet to respond to criticism of their poor behaviour.

If this outburst had occurred during an in-person meeting of the committee, Alex Cole-Hamilton would have been immediately reprimanded by the chair. He would have been forced to apologise – properly – there and then. If he was truly sorry for treating his colleague in such an unpleasant way then he would not have tweeted out such an ill-judged response.

And if he was genuinely deserving of praise for “owning up” to his outburst then his apology should have been directly and privately to Maree Todd – before any social media comment on what happened.

Politicians often talk about the behaviour of ordinary people on social media and how they conduct themselves. Often, rightly so: our political discourse has become increasingly intemperate and nasty in recent years.

But they have to also set an example or – at the very least – practise what they preach. In this case, sorry seems to be the hardest word. And that looks like a lot like hypocrisy.