Surely given that we are in a new cold war with Russia it would be safer from a security point of view to stay at the Embassy rather than the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel? Presumably the embassy is less likely to be as comprehensively bugged by the FSB as Moscow’s most luxurious hotel? It is normal for ministers traveling overseas to avail themselves of the Embassy’s guest rooms.

Could it be that Lord Mandy of Corfu has got so used to the high life of the oligarchs that he would rather lord it at a 5-star hotel. The British businessman he is with are staying in another hotel costing £300 a night, whereas his suite normally rents at circa £5,000 a night. They are paying their own bills of course. No credit crunch worries for Mandy, the taxpayer picks up his bill…