Hoo’s that on the podium?

Following his tax breaks for theatre announced in the Budget, is George Osborne becoming an unlikely champion of the arts? The Chancellor was at the British Museum last night making a speech as it reopened the Sutton Hoo collection. Osborne recalled his fondness for the Anglo-Saxon haul unearthed in the Thirties, having studied it while at university in Oxford.

Also in attendance was Sir Paul Ruddock, chairman of the V&A and arts patron, who gave a storming speech and looks like a man waiting for the next big job. What about the National Trust? Simon Jenkins is thought to be thinking about vacating his chair.