THE last government's ineffectual hand-wringing over "fat cat" bosses' pay played a part in its downfall - which is why, politically, Tony Blair may need to respond with more than his reported outrage over the jackpot salary increases awarded to directors of lottery operators Camelot.

The company's blustering excuses for these whopping increases cut no ice.

The pay and bonuses of the company's ten executives shot up by nearly 40 per cent to £2.3million last year while ticket sales fell by 10 per cent and awards to good causes fell by £143million.

The fact that the bonuses are based on the previous year's performance is immaterial. The ordinary people funding this offensive excess will regard it as nothing more than greed.

Yet, what can the government do about it - other than express its anger?

True, Labour is committed to having the National Lottery run by a non-profit operator when Camelot's licence expires in 2001, and has suggested that revenue from it will be directed to health and education, though not in a mainstream way.

But, meantime, the lottery remains a fat milch cow for Camelot.

If Labour were to respond to that by roping it into its windfall tax proposals simply in order to fill some of the government borrowing "black hole" that it has inherited, the public would not complain.

But if it did so also as a practical response to this latest instance of "fat cat" greed, the public would be delighted - and Camelot would have asked for it.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.