Richard Bacon is a very highly regarded Norfolk MP, and naturally wants to do all he can to promote local businesses.

One of those is Lotus and its success is vital to the local workforce’s economy. So when Lotus offered to loan Richard a £33,000 brand new very sporty looking Lotus Europa S on a months trial, he was naturally delighted to accept.

My concern is the mixed messages this gives out, barely a day goes by without a news story in our national media about how we have to reduce our carbon emissions. So I naturally looked into the emissions emitted by this sleek dream machine and discovered it was 220 grammes per kilometre.

Comparing this figure against this carbon emissions table shows it is in the second highest category. It is quite plainly not the sort of car which David Cameron is urging his fellow MPs to drive. He wants emissions to be reduced to 100 grammes per kilometre in new cars by 2022.

Perhaps a weekend’s trial would have been sufficient and more in keeping with today’s green message. This would have given Richard time to appreciate the charms of this undoubtedly beautifully crafted car – though I have no idea which Norfolk roads he can use to test out its full performance, reaching 0-100 mph in 13.8 seconds, they are mostly winding lanes.