An analysis of the new laws by the Department for Business discloses that it will cost firms more than £1.8 billion a year, leading to warnings from major employers that they will have to cut jobs.

It’s blithering stupidity on two counts.

The first is that right now is just the time to load more costs onto businesses, isn’t it? You know, when we’re all wondering where the money is going to come from to create new jobs, the new jobs we need to cut the unemployment rate, some bright arse comes along and dumps more costs on business? Makes it more expensive to employ people thus ensuring that fewer people will be employed?

Yes, that’s stupidity.

The second count is that this is a European directive. It’s not actually possible to “not agree” with it. It’s law, we’ve got to do it. All we’re allowed to do is decide exactly what sort of language we use to impose it.

Lord knows that neither the British labour market nor the British papers are perfect but do we really have to have, in just one story, proof that both are worse than we thought and continuing to get even further worse?