Researchers at the University of Essex, working at the Centre for the Study of Integrity (a name in itself to make you smile wanly) have discovered that the British are more inclined to cheat, and to believe that cheating is justified, than they did in 2000, only 11 years ago.

Lying, having an affair, buying stolen goods and keeping money you have found are all considered more acceptable than they were a decade ago, say the researchers.

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Dishonesty is contagious. And the example our business, political and intellectual leaders give us is, to an unprecedented degree in recent memory, bad, corrupt and corrupting.