CHAUFFEUR QUIZZED OVER INSIDER TRADES

A CHAUFFEUR for one of the City’s most influential spin doctors has been questioned over an alleged insider trading ring.

PR guru Roland Rudd’s driver was one of several quizzed by the Financial Conduct Authority. Rudd, who runs agency Finsbury, has acted on takeover deals for some of the UK’s biggest firms, so is privy to details about mergers before they are made public.

It is thought Finsbury staff use codenames to keep deals private when on the phone to clients, even if travelling in the back seat of a company car. The boss’s driver, who does not trade, has not been arrested or accused of any wrongdoing, and is still employed by the firm. It is understood that he was quizzed eight months ago.

Rudd has not been questioned or faced accusations, and lawyers brought in to investigate Finsbury’s procedures found they were working properly.