CITY WHISPERS: Ex-MI6 man Steele named in hunt for Perring source

Claims: Labour MP Liam Byrne

The saga of Labour MP Liam Byrne and his claims of short-seller Fraser Perring’s alleged links to Russia has rumbled on these past months as the financier continues his vendetta against the ex-New Labour Minister.

Byrne told the Commons in March that Perring was ‘a not infrequent visitor to Moscow’ and called on the Government to ensure that ‘short-selling groups are not another weapon in Putin’s arsenal’. Perring denies the claims.

The MP said he had been told about trips to Russia, but has so far failed to disclose his source.

However, several people have told Whispers that the source is thought to be Christopher Steele, ex-head of the MI6 Russia desk, who now heads intelligence firm Orbis.

Steele previously authored a report which mentioned the pee tape – a recording alleged to show Donald Trump watching two prostitutes urinate on a bed previously used by the Obamas – which the property mogul vehemently denied.

UAE tries to ‘woo’ female journalists

Several female journalists received an email this week from the media office of Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the seven emirates in the UAE, inviting them to ‘an exclusive Women in Media dinner’ in London’s Shard skyscraper.

The UAE has a mixed record on women’s rights. 

Domestic violence remains legal and women still need approval from their male guardian to take up work. 

One may want a glass of champagne before bringing it up. 

ShareSoc follows Archie Norman’s lead 

Remember the recent uproar when Marks & Spencer made its annual shareholders’ meeting digital-only?

The move seemed to fly in the face of chairman Archie Norman’s campaign to give investors a greater say in the running of the companies they own.

Now Whispers learns that ShareSoc – champion of private investors’ rights and a staunch fan of Norman’s campaign – has followed suit.

Its AGM this year was also online-only ‘to keep costs down and make it more accessible’, an insider admits.

Next year’s meeting will be hybrid so members can also gather in person. But the damage has been done.

‘I can see no excuse for this,’ said an AGM regular. ‘They should be setting an example.’

Jon Lewis not tempted by US switch 

Capita’s Jon Lewis surprised the City recently saying he would step down at the end of this year.

He has been there since 2017, when he was parachuted in to turn the outsourcer around after a slew of profit warnings. It was profitable for Lewis, who has raked in £7 million since he got there.

But it is peanuts to what he could earn in the US.

Is he tempted? No, he tells Whispers. Taking on more non-executive roles is his preference and that ‘it’s about quality of life’.

Perhaps a decade at US oil services giant Halliburton, where he was brutally passed over for the top job, also puts him off.

                                                                   Contributors: Francesca Washtell and Patrick Tooher 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk