The cost of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office has risen by 30%. If you thought Prescott was bad value for money when it cost £2m to keep him on the croquet lawns and perform his various roles, then a 30% cost overrun to £2.6m is outrageous.

All he has to do nowadays is consume tea and biscuits, keep his trousers up and his hands off the secretaries, how can this cost us £2.6m?