Duncan Bannatyne, the leisure tycoon and former Dragons’ Den panelist, has turned to Twitter to distance himself from the speculation surrounding a ‘leading businessman’ who has used an injunction to prevent the Telegraph from revealing he bullied and sexually abused staff.
‘Nope. Not me,’ said the one-time ice cream seller and twice-married millionaire.
Whoever it is, the scandal has prompted a promise that government ministers will bring forward a consultation on the use of non-disclosure agreements in employment disputes.
Prime Minister Theresa May told the Commons that it was important that the government tightened up the use of NDAs, saying “it is clear that some employers are using them unethically”.
The court of appeal granted a temporary injunction on Tuesday blocking the newspaper from identifying the man, overturning an earlier finding by the high court that to do so was in the public interest.
According to the ruling, in five cases “substantial settlements” were made to employees as part of NDAs.
The case will now be heard in full at the high court.
Mone’s hero
Baroness Mone, currently under fire over her poor attendance record at the House of Lords, is also raising eyebrows over her new business partner Steve Wozniak and her apparent reverence for the Apple co-founder.
She says the 68-year-old has been ‘my business idol since I was a teenager’.
Eagle eyes at the FT’s Alphaville have noted that the one-time bra star’s 2015 autobiography My Fight To The Top makes no reference to the man they call Woz, but does refer four times to ‘childhood hero’ Sylvester Stallone.
Baroness Mone, who was ennobled by then-Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015, is facing criticism after parliamentary authorities disclosed that she attended the upper chamber on just 19 of 157 days.
A spokesperson for the businesswoman said she was “proud to be part of the House of Lords” and “will always take her duties in the House of Lords very seriously.”
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