OWN GOALS

Gerald Ratner In 1991, the head of jewellery chain Ratners publicly called his company’s products “total crap”. The firm admitted to the City a year later its £122 million loss over that period was due to “adverse publicity”. Michael O’leary The Ryanair boss called thousands of passengers “stupid” in 2012 in a rant about people turning up to the airport without a printed boarding pass. Anders Dahvig The then-president of furniture chain Ikea admitted his company’s stores were “appalling”, especially at weekends. Helen Mirren The actress and brand ambassador for L’oreal’s Age Perfect range admitted at a company event last year using moisturiser “probably does f*** all”. John Pluthero The ex-uk chairman of Cable & Wireless wrote in a memo to staff in 2006: “We work for an underperforming business in a crappy industry and it’s going to be hell for the next 12 months.”