Liam Byrne has popped his head above the parapet this morning to slam Francis Maude as “Britain’s most expensive butcher”. Apparently the government’s promised “Bonfire of the Quangos” has been a damp squib. But what’s this from July 2009?

The Treasury has called for a crackdown on quangos, which are costing taxpayers billions each year.

Liam Byrne, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has written to Whitehall departments demanding an urgent review of all quangos to assess which can be abolished, merged with other bodies or taken back directly into their ministries.

Where’s your axe now Baldemort?