Conrad Black not on Bush’s pardon list

Anxious times for Conrad Black, the former proprietor of the Daily Telegraph. On Friday it was confirmed that Black - or Prisoner No 18330-424 as he is known at the Coleman Correctional Center in Florida - had appealed to the US Justice Office to be considered for a presidential pardon from George W Bush.

So he will no doubt be concerned to learn that his name is not among a list of 14 lucky felons released today.

While it's not over yet – Bush can award any number of pardons before he leaves office on January 20 – it is telling that none of those names announced today are in any sense high-profile cases.

Commentators believe that Lord Black, who is eight months into a six-and-half year sentence for fraud and the obstruction of justice, might be too much of a hot potato even for Dubya, especially as his crimes revolve around financial malpractice.