Hot on the heels of the furore over MPs' expenses comes a delicious story from the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, which has uncovered a rather laissez faire approach to expenses at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). It gives the example of a £100 allowance for an overnight stay in London by an HMRC employee who was not obliged to provide a receipt. Other expenses where no receipt was required included a £20 evening meal on an overnight stay, while passengers travelling for work in a vehicle driven by someone else are able to claim 5p a mile.

Even worse, the National Insurance Manual urges HMRC employees: “Although they are not confidential, you should not publicise rates and allowances used by the Civil Service in relation to expenses.”

Clive Gawthorpe, partner at UHY Hacker Young, says: “Accountants who frequently face HMRC's challenges over expenses as little as £10 will find all this a little ironic.”

— The survey this week into the impact of testosterone on the performance (and bank balances) of traders has sparked plenty of debate on City dealing floors. But there appears to be little sign of traders seeking to temper their more macho dealing practices. In fact, the opposite is true. Room Service, the food delivery people, claim that in the wake of publication of the research, it has received requests from a “handful of City types” at leading investment banks for lunch options that might boost their testesterone levels. A spokesman for the company says: “We're not nutritionists but we're trying to find some appropriate nosh. Cursory research would suggest that garlic and oysters might do the trick.”

Why Lambert is just 'nuts' about Sugar

The new series of The Apprentice, featuring Sir Alan Sugar, has been enjoying record ratings - and, despite the snooty attitude of some business people to the programme, it has fans right at the top of British industry. Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI, confessed his “love” for the show to an audience of enterpreneurs yesterday. He added hastily: “It has nothing to do with the real world but it's completely nuts and totally compelling.”

— A colleague visiting Shell's group head office in The Hague the other day picked up a booklet in the foyer entitled Shell Group Headquarters House Rules. On the inside front page is a section called “The Pearls of Shell”, which says: “The people employed at Shell are the pearls of our company. They impart lustre to our business and deliver first-class performance, day in day out. That is why it is vital to cherish their wellbeing, health and safety.” There is more guff about “treating one another with respect” but by now you have doubtless already reached for the sick bucket.

— Ted Tuppen, sports-mad boss of Enterprise Inns, is taking time out from trying to persuade HMRC to let him convert the company into a real estate investment trust in to take part in a bicycle ride for an injured soldiers' charity. Next month the Enterprise chief executive will join 300 cyclists on a 350-mile ride over five days from Sword Beach in Normandy to the Chelsea Royal Infirmary in London to try to raise £6million for Help for Heroes. Tuppen, who has already raised £22,000, has a particular reason for taking part. His eldest son Tom is a captain in the Gurkhas and recently returned from Afghanistan. So is Tuppen in training? “Yes, although the first time I went out I fell off.”

— St George's Day next week marks the 90th anniversary of the famous naval raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend, for which 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded. A new book, The Zeebrugge Raid 1918 - The Finest Feat of Arms, by Paul Kendall, provides a fascinating insight into the men who took part. Among them was a young naval lieutenant, Oscar Henderson, who was awarded the DSO for his gallantry. He later became managing director of The Belfast News Letter, reputedly the world's oldest surviving daily newspaper. Henderson also co-founded Ulster Television (now UTV) in 1958 and five years later he helped to launch Sunday News, the first Sunday newspaper in Northern Ireland. A remarkable man.

Diamond eager to show his team spirit

Bob Diamond, the hard-charging Barclays president, has agreed to be an adviser to Boris Johnson if the Conservative is elected Mayor of London. Mr Johnson emphasised that Mr Diamond would be one of “many” drafted in to Team Boris to help him with his £11 billion budget. Just as well, as one assumes that the American has enough on his plate managing Barclays’ £1.6 billion sub-prime-related writedowns and, of course, spending his £21 million pay package.

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