Pembroke: Detecting a BT mistake

We've all got cross with BT at some point, but a London- based company took its ire a step further than usual yesterday, when, on the eve of the BT3 share issue, it threatened the telephone company with a writ for getting its number wrong in the business directory.

Corporate Investigations, which works for big corporations on fraud and litigation matters, asked for an entry under management consultants as it doesn't like to be associated with the gumshoe, debt- collector brigade. However, the company also appeared in the detective agencies section, but with the address and telephone number of a rival company - the almost identically named Corporate Investigations (UK) Ltd.

'Unless we get some redress we will be seeking compensation,' Sam Canavan, managing director, fumed.

One point might undermine his case, however. BT claims the 'mistake' first appeared two years ago and no one noticed.

Sir Colin Marshall probably couldn't believe his luck yesterday when the British Airways annual meeting, billed as a potentially rumbustious affair following the fresh 'dirty tricks' allegations from Virgin, turned into a walkover for the directors.

Sir Colin might have been forgiven for feeling a little nervous. He must have expected criticism over the Virgin affair, possibly even calls for his resignation. Instead he got more than an hour of largely tame questions plus the declaration from one admirer that she was 'looking at the best board in Britain'.

Perhaps it was all a credit to Sir Colin's tactics, which appeared to be to render his audience supine with a lengthy opening statement. These included fulsome praise for the former chairman (now president) Lord King and a 20-minute discourse on the Virgin affair. After this, shareholders pelted the board with lightweight questions on BA's non-smoker flights (curiously described as 'elitist and sexist' by the questioner) and the curse of Concorde from an anti- noise lobbyist.

Shareholder power it was not.

Battersea Park in London will be abuzz this evening for the annual Chemical Bank corporate challenge. About 7,000 staff from 500 firms are expected to shake a leg in the 3 1/2-mile race round the park's perimeter.

John Barber of Royal Insurance will be defending the prize of fastest chief executive and might be able to claim a famous scalp. The London Marathon winner Eamonn Martin is representing Ford, for whom he works as a test engineer in Basildon. But Mr Martin is carrying a foot injury. Is this Mr Barber's chance?