THOSE who benefitted from the immoral tax laws which allowed the vulture fund that bought Nama’s NI €1.6bn loans to pay less than €1,900 in tax on a €77m profit are laughing all the way to the bank. But they must also be laughing at what passes for political opposition in this country and, probably, all around the world.

The State’s spending watchdog has strongly defended methods used to probe Nama’s Project Eagle, but admitted losses from the deal may be more than the estimated £190m (€220m) for taxpayers.

Nama’s decision to sell its Northern Ireland portfolio in bulk represented “a significant shift” in its usual strategy.