What loans-for-honours really shows is that nobody believes a word No. 10 says any more

If nothing else, Lord Levy has at least learnt the etiquette of being investigated by police. When he was first detained last July, he contemptuously accused officers of using ‘totally unnecessary’ tactics. On Tuesday, he emerged from the police station without a word — and said, through friends, that he was feeling ‘on very good form’. This is remarkable, given that His Lordship had just been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. But it is also polite.

The police shrugged off Lord Levy’s criticism last July. What baffled them was his claim to have co-operated fully with their inquiry. In fact, he could hardly have been less accommodating to the detectives who questioned him. His approach was to hand over a written statement and say ‘no comment’ to each question, as if he were an American pleading the fifth amendment. While legally within his rights, it displayed an obstructive approach to the investigation.