This was, of course, of little interest here, but so well-researched was it that rumours began to circulate that it must have been the work of Ted Wragg, TES columnist and satirical genius.

Wragg is a mate of Bremner’s and does write sketches for the show. But he told The TES that this was not one of his and added: “Bird and Fortune write their own stuff. The thing about that sketch was that it was really a list of facts. There was no exaggeration.

“Satire, nowadays, is just a matter of reading out Government press releases and people fall about laughing.”