Went suggested that Bank of Scotland boss Mark Duffy "seems to see himself as a whiter-than-white virgin", a comment that prompted a swift reply from Duffy last Tuesday.

In a letter to Went, the boss of the Scottish bank said his family "read, with some amusement, your interview in last Sunday's Tribune about their father's virginity".

Seeking to deal with "any concerns that you may have on this front", Duffy enclosed a copy of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" album. "It is certain to get you up and at it in no time at all, " Duffy wrote. "Go for it David."

This is the second peace offering Duffy has sent to senior IL&P executives in recent weeks. Back in January he gave a bottle of 15year-old Scotch malt whisky and some Scottish spring water to Niall O'Grady, head of marketing at IL&P's banking arm, Permanent TSB.

The gift was a tongue-incheek response to O'Grady's swipe at Scottish banks for having "delusions of heroism when it comes to Ireland", which he put down to "something in the water".