I think we should stop talking about the UK, or even of England. It's all about London. They don't even bother to hide it.

(That is of course typical of offshore financial centres. They don't call for much space. An island will do. A city is fine. Mailboxes, telecommunications, some offices, and that's it. "A clean shirt and a blower", as Magnus Pym's con-man father says in John Le Carré's A Perfect Spy.)

I'd be interested to know if Darling realizes how contradictory his statements are. He doesn't actually have to bother his head about it. Is there a journalist anywhere who'll point it out?