Disgraced Labour peer Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate was outed in the Sunday Times as having agreed to become a paid advocate for a firm pushing for new laws to benefit its business. Guido can now reveal that MacKenzie is the face of a company which promises to “increase your chances of winning a Queen’s honour such as an OBE, MBE or Knighthood”, or “increase your chances of joining the Lords”. How might he do that?

Mackenzie himself says the company, Awards Intelligence, will “significantly increase your chances of success and save valuable time”. He charges £8,900 for help with a knighthood and £4,900 to boost your chances of being made a peer, with an industry-busting average “win rate” of 42%. Of course Mackenzie would never try to get around parliamentary rules and abuse his position to make money for a private firm. They might struggle to find new clients now…