In the annual Mais lecture on February 24th Mr Osborne seemed to reiterate his original hard-headedly austere view.

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The company wrong-headedly opened new branches following its acquisition, instead of focusing on its profitability, according to Honor Westnedge, retail analyst at Verdict Research.

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But he would not have been fat-headedly sent to Deepcut had the first court martial done more than gingerly reduce him to the ranks.

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