The dastardly Mr Deedles

Poundland owner Steinhoff, whose exchief Markus Jooste, 56, I reported is offloading his collection of thoroughbred racehorses, is selling its Gulfstream G550 private jet for £18m. A recent accountancy scandal has left the once-mighty South African company struggling to stay liquid after £10bn was wiped off its value. The writer Robert Louis Stevenson claimed sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. Offcuts from yesterday’s Dominic Chappell/BHS trial: Porky Dominic arrived without a tie – no way to impress a judge. A farcical moment occurred when he appeared not to know his own age. After stating he was 50, he then said: ‘I’m terribly sorry. Birthdays don’t mean much to me. I am actually 51.’ Berkshire hathaway’s appointment of Ajit Jain as vice- chairman is seen as further evidence Warren Buffett views his Indian-born insurance operations chief as his successor. Like Buffett, £11m-a-year Ajit, 66, is surprisingly parsimonious. Unlike cousin Anshu, 55, who as boss of Deutsche Bank travelled on a £6,000-an-hour jet and lavished staff with Aston Martins. Business minister Greg Clark’s meeting with Peugeot over job cuts at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant yesterday hardly inspired confidence. When they met last year, Clark declared discussions, Neville Chamberlain-style, ‘constructive and reassuring’. Some 650 jobs swiftly went. Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to budge during this week’s Cabinet reshuffle meant that the Prime Minister was forced to keep hapless Gregster in his post. Might Larry the Downing Street Cat have been preferable? Donald Trump’s attendance at the World economic Forum in Davos in a fortnight usurps France’s president, emmanuel Macron, 40, as the star draw. We must hope Trump is not accompanied by his pouty wife, Melania, 47, whose stylish presence threatens to overshadow France’s evergreen first lady, Brigitte, 64. Otherwise baby-faced Macron may find himself banished to his room, sans diner.