Now am I surprised he's a crook, too? No. But should we just put up with it?

When the Nazi leaders at the end of the war were tried, the prosecutors bent some of the rules.

Nobody lost too much sleep over that. They were criminals, everyone could see, just as Pol Pot and his followers were, just as Mugabe is.

There are some things you just recognise - like beauty. And crime.

No; I'm not in the least bit surprised that Eyebrows Darling, current guardian of our nation's financial probity, is ripping us all off on phoney expenses for homes he doesn't need and makes a profit from, any more than I'm surprised that most of the people in parliament are doing the same including the Great Bloat Who Is Too Busy Saving The Universe To Learn To Count.

They all say "but I am not breaking any rules." Nor were any of the people who ran Auschwitz and Belsen. They were just following orders. And who made the orders? The criminals in charge.

Who has made the orders that allow all these politicians to steal millions? They did. They are in charge. And they are crooks.

It is not good enough to say others are worse. Yes; they have bigger crooks in the U.S. They have much bigger crooks in Italy and Russia. They have much, much bigger crooks infesting all Africa. It is a matter of setting an example.

The failure to set an example is destroying our society. And we should make an example of the people who fail to set an example, because whatever the law says, these people are crooks. The Home Secretary is ultimately in charge of the police force. She is a crook. No wonder the police feel it is O.K. to kill an innocent news vendor as they did the other day. If their boss doesn't have to answer for her actions, why should they?

Geoffrey Hoon - the Transport Minister - is a bigger crook. (Did you know that "hoon" is Aussie slang for a pimp? Very appropriate.)

Nor are they all from one party. Scots M.P. Malcolm Bruce who got £50,000 for one ten day trip to China is a Lib Dem crook. Red-faced speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin is supposed to be above party (which he isn't) and he certainly isn't above claiming phoney expenses. He is a crook.

When Smoothie-Chops Cameron pretends to be riding a bike to work but is followed by a car, he is dishonest. He is a crook. When they all fly off to jaunts described as fact-finding tours, they are dishonest. They are crooks. When the jaunts are to do with saving the planet they are doubly crooks - and taking the piss.

A country gets the politicians it deserves. What have we done to deserve this lot?