SMALL BEANS BY THE TYPICAL STANDARDS OF THE THE LEFT'S HEROES:

Chirac and the ‘secret £30m account in Japan’ (Matthew Campbell, 5/27/07, Times of London)

ON HOLIDAY last week, Jacques Chirac, the former French leader, took his usual suite at La Gazelle d’Or, a luxury hotel in Morocco. He may consider extending his restful sojourn under the palms indefinitely.

It has emerged that besides being questioned about an illegal fundraising scandal when his immunity from prosecution expires on June 17, Chirac will also face a grilling over £30m he allegedly kept in a secret Japanese bank account.

He had previously denied the existence of any account but judges investigating a separate scandal recently stumbled across statements showing deposits being made in his name over several years.