‘OK, it’s under control. The PM believes that there should be a small price to pay, an acknowledgement by you of his personal intervention and the government’s prompt action to ensure the smooth transition into the ownership of First Federal, which will ensure the survival of this iconic British institution and avoid uncertainty. Yes, Julian, I know what you are thinking. Further down the line there may have to be an enquiry, but of course announcing one will be a last resort to hold off the media. I didn’t say that. Anyway, the thinking around here is that we won’t be in power by the end of the year, and so you will be dealing with your chums. I didn’t say that either.’

‘What’s the remit of the enquiry likely to be, if there is one?’

‘Well, as you intimated, there seems to have been some administrative problem, perhaps negligence, with various trusts. We have been sent the papers by this Cornish editor, and they aren’t all good, but the FSA has looked at them and they don’t think there are grounds for prosecution. Get the bank sold, get the money in, and then we can see if there has been any breach of the rules. Sound reasonable?’

‘Not especially. Olly, you know, it turns out that what my father always said, that government is mostly about opportunism, is true.’

‘How right he was on so many matters. Including sticking to what you are good at. But you must know that when you ask a favour from government, there’s a price to pay.’

‘I did know that. Yes. I just hoped that it wasn’t going to be the same this time.’

‘Well, I think I am the bearer of more good news than bad, don’t you? Just think where this could have gone. Got to rush.’

‘What did he say?’ asks Nigel.

‘He wants me to talk up the government and the Prime Minister in return for his intervention.’

‘What did you expect?’

‘The fact is buggers can’t be choosers. And we’ve been buggered. He’s not in politics for the good of anybody, he’s in it to demonstrate what a clever little shit he is.’

His phone rings. It’s Goldstone again.

‘Oh sorry, one more thing, the PM would like you to run your statement by me before you release it. OK? I know it’s the oldest cliché in the book, but we must be reading off the same hymn sheet.’

‘What hymn sheet would that be, Olly?’

The End

The End

There are beginnings and there are ends, and there are also many ways of telling the same story.