The news that through the summer of a fraught financial meltdown passengers on private planes were not even being seen by officials from UK border controls is going to lead to a classic Westminster row. The opposition sees a wonderful opportunity to appear 'strong' and oppositional at no cost to itself, and win welcome tabloid plaudits. A relatively competent Home Secretary, and the leading woman in a very make Coalition, could be hounded from office for trying to blame her civil servants (Peter Oborne has a good account). But nobody seems to be ask 'who gains?'. Who do you know who flies into the UK on a private plane? Who are these lucky thousands? Are they the 'bogus asylum seekers' that threaten to 'swamp' our social services? In private planes? I suspect not.

My friends don't seem to qualify, but I can tell you this. If I wanted to find people who owned and flew or chartered private planes I'd ask someone who might know someone who did own or lease such a plane, because the law of life says that the people who have private planes know people who have private planes. For a start, who else could they show them off too?

Which means that when border controls on those who travel around Europe in such vehicles are lifted, the word goes out. Open door in the UK! It is hard not to conclude that Greeks bearing Euros were among the lucky passengers not being checked in and the recapitalisation of the banking system was somehow being helped.