"Please, sir, I want some more," asks poor boy to millionaire!

Today comes the staggering news that poverty pays handsomely. Sounds like a contradiction, but not when you are the chief executive of a government "firm" that is supposed to help the poor. Charles Dickens wrote copiously about the scandalous conditions of Victorian England. He should be resurrected to put the frighteners on New Labour. Oliver Twist famously asks "Please, sir, I want some more" which was a bold request in a brutal world.

The Commons Public Accounts committee found that the salary of CDC Group chief executive Richard Laing rose from £383,000 in 2003 to £970,000 in 2007. What is he on now, may we ask? When most of Africa is grovelling around for food and shelter, avoiding plague to the right and pestilence to the left, is it right for this guy to take so much? I am all for being paid for the job, but this seems to be an overinflated compensation package that merits forensic scrutiny.

CDC stands for Commonwealth Development Corporation and it was set up to help struggling countries on independence. They have probably done some good work, but their public accountability is woefully weak. If this sort of cash shovelling towards the private coffers of the bosses can go on, what of the rest of the funding? Edward Leigh, the committee chairman, says oversight of the CDC has been "ineffective".

There are a lot more questions to be answered. What if shed loads of cash ended up in Mugabe's treasure trove? Would we get to know?

Carry on, Edward, and get to the bottom of this murky pile!