The last thing we need in a crisis caused in no small part by the opacity of modern financial alchemy is to keep railing against the bearers of bad tidings. Short sellers and fair value accounting have already been shot, if not mortally wounded, as messengers. Now, the railers appear to have another victim in their sights: step forward Robert Peston, business editor of the BBC.

The Financial Times should declare an interest, insofar as Mr Peston once worked for this newspaper in a number of senior positions, including as financial editor. But that is not our interest today: which is to sound the alarm about the gathering clamour for an investigation into a string of exclusive stories he has broken.