---

Equitable Life

I understand all that, but the Government stand charged with cynicism over the whole Equitable Life saga. Surely, however, they could have avoided that charge at least in relation to the date on which Sir John reports. It is no secret that there is likely to be an election in early May, and Sir John's proposed report date is likely to be after the election. The Government are falling into their own trap: if it can be shown—and the suspicion must exist—that they have deliberately decided to push back Sir John's report until after the election, they are going to land themselves with further accusations of cynicism.