Maxton: rich and well connected

Lord Maxton may be a Labour peer, but it seems he's not shy about his wealth. The baron sits on the Lords communications committee, which quizzed ITV executive chairman Michael Grade today. Maxton's question, on the definition of public service broadcasting, took a sudden divergence. "What actually is public service broadcasting, because if I go on Freeview, Sky or Virgin – which by the way with three houses, I do get all three," Maxton said. He paused before adding: "All paid for before becoming a member of the House of Lords." The committee room erupted in laughter and Monkey can't quite recall the end of his question or Grade's subsequent answer.