Distance

Keeping with the utter cynicism theme, how's about this one - front page of the Independent on Sunday - for a not entirely subtle attempt to make sure the pretty straight kind of guy doesn't have his squeaky-clean hands anywhere too obviously near this particular till?

A furious Tessa Jowell decided to separate from her husband David Mills after it emerged that the businessman had attempted to trade on his relationship with Tony Blair, The Independent on Sunday can today reveal."

Thing is, Mills has been grade-A shady for years:

Now for something else you won’t find in the mainstream media. Mills was under long term surveillance by the Serious Fraud Office for numerous dubious financial transactions. Approximately nine years ago, his office was actually raided by the SFO. As the investigation drew to a close, New Labour came to power. An inside source tells me that SFO staff believed they had a good case, and wondered whether his friendship with the new Prime Minister Blair had any bearing on it not coming to court. A Sunday Times Insight investigation into Mills was spiked by the editors.

So these current peculiar financial dealings do not drop out of a clear blue sky. A lot of taxpayers’ money has been spent investigating Mills before. He is well dodgy.

You have to wonder if at any point in the whole international tax lawyer-bribery allegations-Mafia connections-SFO investigation shennanigans anyone bothered to ask how Mills made his money, exactly. Perhaps. Maybe these things simply aren't done in the better social circles.