Corruption? Of course not.

And more, the master was able to broker a relationship with a young woman who would later become the apprentice's wife. And over the years, the older man was able to create or exploit opportunities for the young man who went on to ever greater things.

When the young man was in early middle age he came into high office, in part due to the influence of his former master. And so, grateful for all the help he had received over the years, he gave his old mentor the most senior job in the land, at least in his chosen field. The job included accommodation in one of the country's grandest buildings. Those holding the position over the years had let the place slide into the sort of stately dilapidation that gives grace to old buildings. But it was not falling down, there was no water running down the walls, the windows were not broken. This was no dump, merely a place growing old with dignity.

The old master did not like this. He made representations about the condition of the place and work began on renovations. He wanted new wallpaper and asked for some special kinds. But there was one snag. He was not going to pay for it. The money had to be found from somewhere other than his pocket even though the renovations were unlikely to ever be seen or enjoyed by more than a handful of the people who paid for it.

Of course, his apprentice and his wife got a free house, too. And so did their good friend - he got the one next door in a nice little street with a gate at the end only a couple of minutes walk from work. And several other good friends. And they all got jobs, even though some of them were patently unsuited to their work.

One of the apprentice's friends' relatives was found in possession of an illegal substance but no charges were brought. And the same friend's driver was stopped speeding but no charges were brought.

And some of them asked for their houses to be done up, too. But they did not pay for the work.

Quite a lot of them wanted to travel so they went all over the world. But they did not pay for those trips. And nor did the former apprentice's wife on her way to work one day.

Many of the friends got nice cars. But they did not pay for them. And someone to drive them but they did not pay for the drivers.

Every so often, they would decide they wanted more money so they got together and decided that they would be paid more. And the people who paid for it did not get the chance to say no.

Even the old master, one year, was awarded by his friends a pay rise that was equal to about 85% of the average rate of pay for people in the country, whilst his former apprentice's friend in his free house next door was telling a generation of old people that he was not going to pay them the money to look after themselves when they got old. Even though they had paid into a scheme for just that reason for as much as 45 years.

In the meantime, the former apprentice had given big jobs to liars, cheats and those using tax avoidance measures that his friend next door said ordinary people should not use and then, when they got caught, generally gave them another big job or supported them to stay exactly where they were.

A fairy story? Not exactly. This is the British government. The apprentice is Prime Minister. His friend next door is the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) and his former master is the Lord Chancellor (senior law officer). The friend with the son and driver not charged was the Home Secretary (Justice Minister). The wife that did not pay for her train ticket is Mrs Justice Cherie Blair/Booth, wife of the prime minister. She was not prosecuted for travelling on a train without a ticket and the Benchers (those who deal with questionable behaviour by barristers (she's a Queen's Counsel, a senior barrister) did not take any action either. Nor, no one will be surprised, did the Lord Chancellor who had only weeks before appointed her a Judge.

The Lord Chancellor has asked that his GBP22,000 pay rise be reviewed. The outcome will be announced in due course. The renovations to his apartment cost some GBP650,000 - not a lot short of USD1 million. The wallpaper cost nearly GBP60,000.

Yet they want our old people to accept that they can't have enough to live on despite paying a specific tax called National Insurance throughout their working lives precisely to ensure that they received sufficient to live on in old age. The old master, at aged 62 close to retirement himself, will not have to rely on charity like so many others already do. Moreover, according to his department's website "Since being appointed Lord Chancellor, he has also taken up the following offices. President of the Magistrates' Association, Joint President of the Industry and Parliament Trust; Joint President of the British-American Parliamentary Group; Joint President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and Joint President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He is also a Church Commissioner; an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies; a Trustee of the Hunterian Collection; Chairman of the Glasgow University 2001 Committee; and a Vice-Patron of the World Federation of Mental Health." Clearly the position of Lord Chancellor, for which he is currently paid in the region of GBP180,000 per annum - before the rise - is not keeping him busy.

The armed forces, by the way, were offered an average pay rise of under 3% whilst the Chancellor's figure was over 12%. Is this the government's way of calculating a risk-reward ratio? Just ask the firemen who have been striking to try to get a rise to something approaching 1/6th of the Lord Chancellor's current salary.

And the people paying for all of this? Taxpayers who, when they revolted over excessive taxes on petrol and diesel oil, were told, by the Prime Minister, words to the effect "I will not be swayed by public opinion."

And Britain dares to criticise other countries for the standards of holders of public office.

Lesson? Don't assume that politicians from a developed country means that all is squeaky clean.