Ever wondered how much James Bond gets paid to whirl around the world killing enemies of the British state, in between motorbike chases and train-top fisticuffs? An advert on Friday on the directgov website – used for government recruitment – seeking a "target elimination specialist" might have let slip the answer: £50,000-£60,000, with "performance bonuses on completion of missions". Whether that involves trips to casinos, or money for the restoration of Scottish ruins, isn't specified.

"From time to time the UK government has a need to remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order," begins the advert, claiming to be placed by the Secret Intelligence Service – aka MI6. "So we require particularly skilled professionals who are prepare to work on a non-attributable basis to deal with these problems."