Major loses £212,000

John Major has lost £212,000 on his investment in Mayflower, the bus company that collapsed last week after revealing a black hole in its accounts.

Between January 2000 and March 2003 the former prime minister sat on Mayflower's audit committee, and bought up nearly 400,000 shares in the company.

An analysis of his dealings reveals he bought the shares in five chunks and spent £212,000 in total. But after the company went into administration on Wednesday his investment is now virtually worthless.

Mr Major faces a possible probe into his conduct as a non- executive director at May-flower. It is understood that the Government's Financial Reporting Review Panel is preparing to investigate Mayflower's annual accounts. Last week Mayflower said that the accounting irregularity could go back as far as four years.

The former prime minister will also be investigated by Deloitte, Mayflower's administrator. By law it has to examine the conduct of all directors of the company in the two years before it collapsed and report to the Department of Trade and Industry.