Concerns over the editorial credibility of the London Evening Standard and its editor George Osbourne have increased in the wake of the launch of “editorial” package London 2020 reportedly offered to six major companies.

Apparently the six, which include Google and Uber (in which one of Mr Osbourne’s employers, BlackRock, have a £500million stake) are being offered “money cant buy” positive news and “favourable” comment pieces for £500,000 each. One company that says it was approached in this way is Starbucks, which says that the deal on offer did amount to buying biased reports, which would be “PR death”, and that they didn’t need to buy their reputation in this way.

George Osbourne’s paymasters at the Evening Standard are Moscow-based oligarch (definition in Russia, a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence) Alexander Lebedef and his London-based son Evgeny.