Guido had better things to do than attend Chuka Umunna’s speech yesterday at an event organised by the re-energised IPPR, but that’s not to say he didn’t have eyes and ears in the room. There was a panel discussion afterwards featuring, among others, Lord Myners and Deborah Hargreaves, the Chairman of the self-appointed High Pay Commission. The event was trailed with a suitably hand-wringing leader in the Guardian which, once again, left them open to accusations of rank hypocrisy. Editor Alan Rusbridger’s package was up 7% to £605,000 last year and when a hack in the audience asked the High Pay Commission panel if this reward for failure was acceptable, with his characteristic charm, Myners instead chose to play the man rather than the ball, describing the hack that had asked the question as “embittered”. Deborah Hargreaves was more forthright:

“The answer is no and maybe that is why they need an employee representative on the remuneration committee.” 

Which was rather honest considering Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger was until recently her boss, when she was his business editor and she still contributes occasional articles. Sadly nobody mentioned City tycoon and hedge fund boss Paul Myners’ multi-million pound modern art collection…