Bono raised his head above the parapet again this week when he likened Osama Bin Laden and his al Qaida lieutenants to the IRA.

“He’s just a rich kid,” the singer reflects, “as often were members of the Provisional IRA. They were political science students. We grew up in their environs and got to despise them, these people who see ideas as more valuable than human life.”

Meanwhile, industry sources suggest that U2’s total earnings for the year could be as much as £200 million. In addition to the sold-out Elevation World Tour, their All That You Can’t Leave Behind album has shifted 10 million copies and topped the charts in 32 countries.