The dastardly Mr Deedes

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s recent appearance on Andrew Marr’s show appears to be the catalyst behind his row with Tory MP – and keen naturist – Bernard Jenkin, who believes the Governor has impugned his independence over the referendum. The Canadian Governor, 51, certainly enjoys a high media profile, far more so though than his owlish predecessor, Lord King, who rarely did interviews. Carney’s decision to take the tube on his first morning to work in 2013 displayed an appetite for public relations. Next Friday, he’ll fly the rainbow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender colours over the Bank of England for the first time. Lowly foreign exchange traders at Citigroup have been working around the clock in its Canary Wharf offices, preparing for the potential impact from next week’s referendum. So imagine their displeasure when five of the firm’s executives took last weekend off to embark on a ‘Ferrari safari,’ a three-day road trip which involved hooning their souped-up sports cars across France. ‘Everyone is entitled to a holiday, but the timing and nature of the trip was insulting,’ moans one strung-out galley slave. Goldman Sachs’s compliance department are revealed to have an automated surveillance programme, which monitors employees’ emails for any illegal behaviour. Messages containing profanities are almost certain to be checked for impropriety. Isn’t it a mercy Goldman’s long-standing client, Sir Philip Green, eschews email? The salty-tongued ex-market trader, 65, prefers barking orders down the telephone. The Financial Times’s formal backing of the Remain campaign yesterday surprised no-one. Though I wonder if its stately editor Lionel Barber’s orotund appearance on Radio 4 (‘I plead guilty in being something of an expert into how Brussels works’) may have deterred some floating voters. Still, it’ll be Sir Lionel before long, I expect. Billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson, 69, lists among his favourite gadgets a Moulton New Series Double Pylon bicycle, which he says is just great for pootling about with his six grandchildren. But retailing at £ 17,000, anyone without the great man’s moolah might find the price a steep climb.