THE sheer scale of the ongoing costs of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts should shock but not surprise.

The National Audit Office (NAO) calculates that, even with no more dodgy PFI deals struck, the public is on the hook for £200 billion of payouts — over £10bn this year and with payments stretching off into the 2040s.

And for what? For contracts with a capital value of £60bn!