If the ridiculous conspiracy that inspired Alan Moore’s and Eddie Campbell’s epic retelling of Jack the Ripper were true, this is one scene I’d have no trouble in believing: the unfeeling, unrelenting belief of the crown that “all of them” – the women attempting to blackmail Walter Sickert and through him, the royals – must die. No discussion, no alternative, no chance of any other outcome.

The inability of the ruling class to view the poor as people and individuals is still in evidence, sad to say.