If Edward Gibbon was right, and corruption is 'the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty', then things must be looking up.
The news that Sir Paul Stephenson, the outgoing Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, reckoned he'd done nothing wrong when he accepted a freebie £12,000 worth of hospitality at a health spa will surely cheer the trammelled plebs no end. What could be greater proof of our constitutional liberties than so glib an acceptance of a perk of office?
I write ironically, of course. Obviously, Sir Paul's bargain stay at Champneys was in reality a simple gift, one friend to another, and wasn't offered on account of the uniform he wore. But it does lead one to wonder. Who does he think he is - Tony Blair?
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