View from City Road:: Where were the old men in suits?

Peter Buckley, chairman of Caledonia Investments; Rupert Hambro, managing director of Hambros Bank; Sir Martin Jacomb, former head of BZW and now chairman of Postel; Henry Keswick, chairman of Jardine Matheson, deputy chairman of Sun Alliance and a big wheel at Robert Fleming; Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, chairman of NM Rothschild & Sons; Lord Swaythling (David Montagu of merchant banking fame), chairman of Rothmans International; Lord King of Wartnaby, former chairman of British Airways - it would be hard to imagine a more impressive roll-call of the City's great and the good.

There is something else that they have in common: they are all non-executive directors of Conrad Black's Telegraph group, grafted on to the board in an attempt to lend credibility to a proprietor who has been regarded with suspicion by City investors ever since he floated on the stock market two years ago.

You would have thought that with such a top-drawer City presence, the interests of minority shareholders might have been better looked after. But no. These tired old men in suits might just as well have been cardboard cutouts for all the good they've done. Tiny Rowland, joint chief executive of Lonrho, once famously compared such celebrity non-executives to 'decorations on a Christmas tree'. In this instance at least, he will find plenty in the City to agree.

It is impossible to exaggerate the depth of anger felt by City investors over Mr Black's recent pounds 73m share sale. Yesterday's fatuous statement from the Stock Exchange clearing Mr Black of any suggestion of insider dealing, after exhaustive investigations lasting all of 24 hours, entirely misses the point.

One can safely assume that a man of Mr Black's maturity, sophistication and wealth is not going to insider deal. No, what has so angered the City is that it was given little if any warning that Mr Black might be prepared to follow Rupert Murdoch into the commercial madhouse by engaging in a cut-throat price war.

Rather, Mr Black had given the reverse impression, that he put profit before circulation. Whatever the causes of his sudden loss of nerve, it is already apparent that he has made a catastrophic mistake. He may save his circulation - though the evidence of two days' figures suggests that even this is doubtful - but he has severely weakened his company. He has also destroyed whatever reputation he had in the City. It will take years to restore trust.

So where were all those old men in suits? Ascot, presumably. There was no board meeting called to discuss a move that would wipe more than pounds 2 off the share price and cost pounds 40m in annual profit. Some were telephoned and informed, others not. Particularly embarrassing is the position of Sir Martin Jacomb. Postel, where he is chairman, almost certainly bought shares in the placing.

It is said that a board meeting has been called for next week, but it is a bit late. And if precedent is anything to go by, they will all fall full-square behind Mr Black.

They did when he offloaded his investment in Southam on to the Telegraph's books. Watch out for the decorative non-executive. It is clearly as good a sign as any that all is not well.