Sam Coates over at Red Box has just questioned why Baroness Vadera, the former banker turned minister, wasn’t doing the “heavy lifting” on Northern Rock in the Lords when she “knows more about the subject than anyone else”. Speculating over her role in any and every controversial policy decision is a popular parlour game in Westminster. The question is, can anyone prove she had any role at all?

Over the past few months, people have grumbled to me about her malign influence on everything from banking regulation to the reorganisation of the defence export services organisation. If these critics are to be believed, she stays in the shadows but her influence is unmatched. The problem is, they have almost no evidence to support their claims. Read more