Some strong words from Margaret Hodge and the Public Accounts Committee as they release their report on tax avoidance today. Apparently the Big 4 accountancy firms have an “unhealthily cosy relationship with government”, saying it creates a “ridiculous conflict of interest”. Readers will know of Hodge’s great expertise in this area, given that she worked for one of them, Pricewaterhouse, before she became an MP. Not to mention that Hodge’s friends on the frontbench such as Chuka, Balls and Rachel Reeves have all had PwC analysts on their payroll. Guido can reveal that Labour’s Shadow Treasury ministers Chris Leslie and Cathy Jamieson also currently have PwC employees working in their offices. For some reason Hodge hasn’t said anything about this, you might say, cosy relationship, but then she has form for keeping quiet about awkward questions…

UPDATE: Hodge comes in at number 15 on the Times’ Politicians Rich List (£) this morning with a mere £18 million fortune largely tied up in the family Stemcor steel trading business. She told  Michael Crick “I am a tiny, tiny, tiny shareholder”, an 8-figure shareholding is hardly what Guido would call “tiny”. Her shareholding is via family trusts which have the advantage that they won’t be subject to inheritance tax. Cunning.