It is a shame that not one member of the public queueing to get into Parliament yesterday found their way to the business and enterprise committee.

There they could have learnt from experts how entrepreneurs help our ailing economy. Or tried to.

The committee had attempted to spice up its investigation into enterprise and small businesses by inviting some Dragons' Den entrepreneurs.

Two of the three invited dragons breached the defences of Portcullis House to give MPs the benefit of their experience - Rachel Elnaugh, who stopped being a dragon after her Red Letter Day gift business went into administration, and Doug Richard, a former admirer of Eos, the collapsed business class-only airline.

But let us not fall into that British dislike of failure.

That's one of the problems with our attitude to entrepreneurs, Mr Richard, an American, said. MPs wanted to learn what assistance the banks and government could give start-up businesses, how education and skills could help to foster entrepreneurship.

Mr Richard was brusque in his assessment of the skills of banks. He wasn't “going to turn to a bank” to be told how to do things.

He said the question was banal, upsetting the questioner Brian Binley (Con, Northampton South), a businessman himself, though sadly only of successful enterprises.

He had had an enormous row with the chairman Peter Luff (Con, Mid Worcestershire) about banking questions as he was trying to table them out of sequence.

Ms Elnaugh had inspired thoughts about how schools could help to foster a business spirit - entrepreneurship could be “woven” into lessons. In art: “Instead of getting them to draw that building, get them to create a brand identity.” In English, children could read biographies of entrepreneurs.

Who knows whether such techniques would encourage children to go on to business. They may just put them off school. The MPs' report, including what they gleaned from the dragons, will also make interesting reading for an English class.

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