So, it is morally wrong to pay cash in hand to a tradesman (sorry, trades-person). Surely it must only be days away until a plumber poops up and tells the Daily Mail that he or she has done a cash job for an MP. Have we learnt anything new with this proclamation? Of course not, but it is after all the obligation of the plumber to declare it. Are we the policemen for HMRC? Then again, perhaps we may be facilitating money laundering. So the householder and the plumber are hauled off to face charges. Cost to exchequer? – way above the lost revenue, assuming of course that the plumber never declared it in the first place! I suspect that before long the banks will have to declare every cash withdrawal to HMRC and we can expect “the knock” to find out what we spent it on. So keep all your receipts.

If you fancy some good old fashioned entertainment listen to the grilling of the boss of G4S over the Olympic staffing scandal. One wonders why these big cheeses cannot admit failure outright instead of zigging and zagging around the questioner only to end up exactly where they know they will be. Damage limitation is the name of the game but peopel like him have a knack of failing to undertsand that , unless it is their ego and pay packet that blinds their judgment. The latter pair I reckon without a shadow of doubt.

It highlights the core issue around well paid FTSE bosses. When it goes wrong your neck is on the line and also your wallet. It’s no good blaming others . You climbed the greasy pole to the top and now you are there why should you be immune form accountability on your watch ? Too much golf and hobnobbing instead of walking the factory floor perchance ? Assuming of course you know where the “factory” is….

Yesterday’s M6 Toll incident and its seemingly disproportionate reaction shows us that the terrorists have the upper hand. Look at the disruption caused , all for no reason. The extremists know that Western security forces love to turn up in shiny vehicles in a cacophony of light and sound, because it could have been something serious, and this will surely only encourage somebody to try it on.

What befuddles me is that the “suspect” is sitting with his mysterious vapour for quite some time and nobody is showing signs of being gassed or asphyxiated and then the hazardous material teams how up with a 13 fire engines (if I counted correctly) and a phalanx of decontamination unit, ambulances and firearms teams. You don’t get that much turnout for a serious warehouse blaze.

Why couldn’t a single armed unit board the bus with a fire engine and a couple of ambulances on stand-by ? And as for rounding up the passengers on the carriageway.Treat cattle like that and the RSPCA will have you in front of the magistrates in no time.

Is it any wonder that the public are cynical about how the authorities strut around in a show of force because of procedures and form filling and covering their backs just in case , but when it comes to repsonding to mundane calls the public waits and waits and waits and…..

Mind you , it saves having a training exercise , doesn’t it ?

So let’s look at the headlines : Hester forgoes bonus – such selflessness , Diamond won’t resign – usually a resignation follows a refusal to quit but as the top man being paid a top salary he must be deluded to cling to power , bankers need a change in ethos says Mervyn King – but it only works if there is a BIG stick and they broke the law so send them to prison. In America these guys would be on a one way ticket to Guantanamo Bay .

The Barclays LIBOR affair shows that no amount of regulation will stop crooked activity . In this case the laws exist so why is the debate heading off on a false trail towards greater regulation ? To stop it requires a likliehood of being caught and imprisoned and paying the money back to those who lost out. There are no excuses for dishonesty . As for a fine – it’s the shareholders who lose out. Now here’s an area where a law could help. If there is a major issue such as this the whole of the bank’s employees in that division must suffer . What better way to enforce collective responsibility ?

This week I met a banker from a niche bank and it was a breath of fresh air to hear him speak about the bank’s conservative old fashioned banking ethos but the icing on the cake was when he said that HE was the decision maker and NOT a faceless credit committee with no idea about their clients’ businesses and background. I hope he’ll want to do business with me.