Against the odds, I find myself rather irritated by the torrent of abuse directed at private equity lately. The industry is open to one real and substantial charge, which I shall come to in a moment. But the recent stuff seems mainly misdirected.

Some of it, in the UK especially, is routine name-calling – profiteers, asset-strippers and so forth. But there are two more persistent accusations: that the industry axes jobs, and that it lacks transparency.