Stelios loses vote to oust easyJet boss

EasyJet chairman Sir Mike Rake yesterday survived a motion to sack him, leaving the airline's biggest shareholder and proposer of the motion Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou claiming the City had "confirmed its reputation as the place where conflicts of interest and web of directorships are encouraged". At the meeting at Luton Airport, Sir Stelios presented a resolution to eject Sir Mike, who is also deputy chairman of Barclays.

The extraordinary general meeting was first tabled after the bank was engulfed in the Libor-rigging scandal and Sir Mike was expected to be promoted to chair the board.

Even after the BT chairman ruled himself out, Sir Stelios, whose family controls 37.5 per cent of easyJet, demanded Sir Mike's scalp. More than 53 per cent of shareholders voted against the resolution.