Nothing remotely illegal is being alleged here. Yet it raises an important question: what is the purpose of this astonishingly complex corporate tower sitting atop a police training centre in Scotland? The shortest answer is that this is a classic example of the financialisation of apparently mundane parts of Britain’s economy. As explained below, this is not an outlier: it is increasingly the way business is done. Such structures serve several purposes. Some may involve genuine wealth creation, such as the generation of economies of scale, the provision of investment finance, and the efficient pooling of resources. However, alongside these gains, many other, more extractive activities are evident. Overall, the general purpose of such complexity is for the owners higher up in the corporate tower to obtain maximum possible rewards from a particular arrangement, while shifting maximum risks onto others’ shoulders.

I agree: that is precisely it.

And imagine just how much more efficient our economy could be if a police training centre did not have to bear the burden of all that financial admin, the burden of which all does fall onto the state?

I know PFI is ceasing to be used. But the message is clear: these structures have got to go. I have long argued that QE could be used to fund this at fair value, and stand by that argument now.