The dastardly Mr Deedes
Media-prone businesswoman Lady Brady appeared in an advertisement back in 2012 backing the Government’s introduction of automatic enrolment into pensions. Surprising, then, to see her tell the Sunday Times last week that she doesn’t actually have an annuity of her own, admitting: ‘I don’t believe in them.’ You don’t suspect she backed the Government’s edict for publicity do you?
Re Lady B – will she now be considering her chairmanship of Sir Philip Green’s Taveta Investments? She writes an influential column for a tabloid newspaper which often speaks out against sexual harassment. Using next week’s slot to renounce her £200,000-a-year role would certainly send a strong message to employers who seek to exploit their power in the workplace.
Did WPP’s dramatic, 14pc fall in share price yesterday afford its recently ousted boss Sir Martin Sorrell a wry grin? Not likely. For reasons of his own, Sorrell remains one of the advertising giant’s biggest shareholders. Thanks to yesterday’s dip, he was about £30m worse off last night.
Mullet- haired Pimlico Plumber Charlie Mullins hits out at sanctimonious Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi, who’s appealing against a court ruling saying he must give his drivers workers’ benefits, just as a court did to Mullins. Khosrowshahi snootily claims Uber’s business model is ‘a bit different’ to Pimlico. Says Charlie: ‘Too bloody right our model is different to his. Where Uber drivers are paid so badly, we pay our people the highest rates in the building industry, meaning they easily make more than £100k a year.’ Cor-blimey Charlie’s currently driving around in a London cab emblazoned ‘B****** to Brexit’.
Pity Amstrad tycoon Lord Sugar and Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley who both felt compelled to deny they were the mystery man – whom we now know to be Sir Philip Green – who took out an injunction to prevent reporting on alleged sexual harassment of staff. Sugar tweets: ‘To all those t***** trolls associating me with the Daily Telegraph injunction by a celeb. I have no idea who that person is, but I certainly know it is NOT me.’