An investigation by Spinwatch, published in the Mail on Sunday at the weekend, revealed the “myriad links” between the management consultancy firm Mckinsey and the NHS. As well as exposing the consultants' wining and dining of influential bureaucrats, the investigation described the “revolving door” between Mckinsey and NHS bodies. Nowhere was this clearer than Monitor, the regulator set to be given wide-ranging powers by the coalition's Health and Social Care Bill, whose chief executive and director of strategy are both former Mckinsey employees.

A spokesperson for Monitor said there were “robust procedures to highlight and avoid conflicts of interest in awarding contracts,” which is good as the regulator's recruitment policy is not helping its image. The Mail on Sunday could also have mentioned Sigurd Reinton, who joined Monitor's board last month as a non-executive director. Guess where he used to be a senior partner...