Israelis and Arabs approve and deplore the decision for the same reason: the new town, to be called Har Homa, would complete the ring of Jewish-only estates that divide Arab East Jerusalem from its West Bank hinterland, making it extremely hard to see how East Jerusalem could ever be the capital of a Palestinian state.
He and Sir Winfried have also now come out in favour of Mr Osborne's decision to give regulators the power to force a complete separation of any bank that fails to respect the spirit of the ring-fence.