Allegedly, we are all week equal in the eyes of the law. One would suppose this would extend police treatment too. Not so.

It seems that we are all equal in court, but if your child disappears abroad, you’re entitled to a Scotland Yard investigation four years on only if you sup from the same goblet as the Prime Minister.

The uneven treatment of people by the police seemed to have grown in the last 20 years.

The PhD student;s dream, the analysis of treatment dependent on apparent class, ethnicity, sobriety and even attractiveness has been measured time and time again. But it helps to be privileged, well off, well mannered, and with clout.

The phone hacking scandal (which is the latest in enquiry barely registers in the media this week) identified some serious levels of corruption in the Polishing Police, with police walking away with carrier bags full of cash in exchange the case to court.

The kidnap of Shannon Matthews drove papers mad to identify whether the hunt would be as complete for a working-class girl as it was the McCanns. However, while it was held in parity, how many children get lost abroad but do not have a team from Scotland Yard pursuing them?

All the time that social divide is so great that a person’s tragedy is measurable by how much lobbying they can afford we have an inadequate democracy and society in Britain.