Okay!

"50. The Good Bribe

"The Prime Minister liked to think of himself as a 'pretty straight kind of guy.' He genuinely despised corruption and sleaze in government and wanted to run a cleaner, more honest administration.

"Something had happened, however, that presented him with a real dilemma. At a Downing Street reception, a businessman known for his lack of scruples, but who did not have a criminal or civil conviction ogainsthim, took the PM aside. Whispering conspiratorially into his ear, he said, 'Many people don't like me and don't respect the way I run my affairs. I don't give a damn about that. What does annoy me is that my reputation means I'll never be honoured by my country.

"'Well,' he continued, 'I'm sure you and I can do something about that. I'm prepared to give 10 million pounds to help provide clean water for hundreds of thousands of people in Africa, if you can garuntee that I'll be knighted in the New Year's honors list. If not, then I'll just spend it all on myself.'

"He slapped the PM on the back, said, 'Think it over,' and slipped back into the crowd. The Prime Minister knew that this was a kind of bribe. But could it really be wrong to sell one of his country's highest honours when the reward would be so obviously for the good?"