Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates is heading the Loans for Lordships investigation. He led the corruption enquiry Operation Russia in the early 90s which saw six serving detectives go down for long sentences. He is, as all senior policeman are nowadays, politically sensitive and was the Met’s representative in the de Menezes case, travelling to Brazil to meet the family. He has previous experience liaising with the F&CO, Cabinet Office and Home Office.

Guido has heard no suggestion that he is a man for a whitewash.