Sir Stelios back at war with easyJet board

War broke out again yesterday between easyJet's founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and the company's board. In an 11-page letter, Sir Stelios threatened to organise a shareholder rebellion unless the airline abandons plans to buy more planes and returns profits to shareholders.

He gave easyJet until Monday to respond before he calls a shareholder meeting to seek removal of a non-executive director at random.

Sir Stelios, whose family owns 38 per cent of easyJet, had a long-running dispute with the company's previous management over plane purchases, which appeared to calm down when Carolyn McCall took over as chief executive last year.