Ex-justice secretary Jack Straw has earned more than a few bob since leaving office, as we first reported last week. But lest you got the wrong impression, the Blackburn MP’s extra-parliamentary activities have not been limited to worthy (if perhaps a tad prosaic) appearances in the Lancashire mill towns. Oh no. The agricultural commodity traders ED & F Man Holdings are also a favoured client, paying for Straw to break bread with the prime minister of Ukraine last September. ED & F Man is a lucrative client, the register of members’ interests confirms, having paid Straw £30,000 in consultancy fees last year alone.

Straw also took flights costing £4,480 in respect of speaking engagements for something called the International Stability Operations Association, based at the Ronald Reagan Center, Washington DC. This is a trade association created to support the private military industry. How very New Labour!

Next week: Jack goes into bat for our much-loved private equity industry.