Alastair Campbell has spent most of the festive period going off on one about the gambling industry, which he accuses of “getting it’s tentacles into Parliament.”

Its an interesting line to take from someone who is in the pay of an organisation whose job is to do just that – push the interests of gambling in parliament. What Mad Al likes to keep quiet when he is on one of his new moral crusades is that he is a well remunerated lobbyist for Portland. And who are are on the spinmeister’s client list? The Association of British Bookmakers, of course.