The public furore that ensued would have aborted any normal intelligence set-up.

ECONOMIST: Russian espionage

Technicians set up the micro-array in the same way they might set up a normal microphone.

ECONOMIST: How to reproduce the ambiance of a live concert in the home

Regardless of whether Ms Jowell has done anything wrong, she has been damaged by the picture that has emerged of the world her husband inhabited, one in which raising multiple mortgages to invest in hedge funds or earning large fees to set up exotic tax-avoidance schemes was perfectly normal.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot