If your firm’s turnover was up 11%, profits up 18% and dividends up 20%, you would be feeling pretty good about things. Wouldn’t you just be feeling so very good if you owned £50 million worth of shares in Capita, the government’s favourite outsourcer?

Now if Lord Levy, Tony Blair’s special envoy and tennis buddy, reminds you of all the good things the Labour party has done; public-private partnerships, outsourcing, privatising the collection of the TV licence, privatising the keeping of criminal records, congestion charging, bringing in management consultancies to government departments and councils. Well, if he asked you to do a good turn, you would want to, wouldn’t you?

If you had £3.4 billion of business in the pipeline, wouldn’t it be a good idea to be helpful? Could it be anything but good for business?

No one would know, it would be secret, this thing would be a little secret. Only you, Lord Levy and a few people in Downing Street would know. Tony Blair would know. That could only be good, couldn’t it? They might do another good thing for you. Yes. “Lord Aldridge”, that would be good…