Ever the model of discretion, The Diary was this week forced to invoke the sacred journalist code of never revealing sources… unless it’s in return for a really, really large bribe.

A recent Diary dispatch told of one City-based partner on the verge of switching US firms who is unlikely to be missed by former colleagues – many of whom are now gibbering emotional wrecks thanks to the harsh treatment meted out by their boss. One poor associate even suffers from recurring nightmares about the partner.