Michael Portillo, the Tory shadow chancellor of the exchequer, last week gave a City of London audience an insight into his day-to-day life as a public figure.

'I was giving a talk at a sixth form college yesterday. When the formalities had finished, I was having a chat with some of the students and I asked what they were planning to do when they left school. One girl said, 'I was planning to go home. But looking at you, I might change my plans - big boy.'