As befits somone fascinated by powerful historical figures, Black has long been a dedicated member of the secretive group of businessmen and diplomats. But his financial woes, including the small matter of a dispute over $300m of payments at Hollinger, have left the inner circle at Bilderberg increasingly uncomfortable.

The final straw came this month when Black said he would sue Henry Kissinger and Richard Perle, both directors of Hollinger and fellow Bilderbergers. Now he is going to be pressed to leave the group. Meetings of its steering committee have become awkward affairs since Black had his little spot of bother, said one insider. His exile from the rich and powerful will be particularly painful, but perhaps he will be comforted by the words of one of his heroes, Napoleon, who said it was “better to have a known enemy than a forced ally”.

The deadline for bids for the papers passed last week, but there is one outstanding bid still to come: from the Berrys, the aristocratic press barons from whom Black wrestled the Telegraph in 1985. Three weeks after Prufrock first revealed the Berrys’ determination to win back the papers, their bid is still alive. Watch this space.

• COST-CUTTING is being taken to new levels at British Airways. In a particularly desperate attempt to ensure that its £300m-a-year savings target is met, the water feature in the foyer of Waterside, the airline’s headquarters near Heathrow, has been drained.

  Morale, already low over fears of job cuts, is now likely to sink further. The little channel used to provide great entertainment. Until it was fenced off, staff used to jump over it to take a short-cut to the exit, often resulting in wet feet and red faces.

  Insiders insist this is just routine maintenance, but Prufrock is not convinced, and is watching for other signs of shrinkage.

  Par-Man milks investors

  PARMALAT might have cost investors €14 billion (£9.5 billion), but an Italian internet company is doing well from a game it has designed based on Pac-Man, called Par-Man. It shows the former dairy boss Calisto Tanzi as a biting head, chomping its way through investors’ money. The aim of the game is to avoid the police, who pursue him round the screen, consume all the money, re-energise by drinking cartons of milk, and escape to the Cayman Islands. Too many close encounters with the police lead straight to San Vittore prison in Milan — and just the fate finance chief Fausto Tonna wished on reporters outside a Parma court: “a slow and painful death”.

  Queen of sex toys awaits call from the palace

  JACQUELINE GOLD, boss of the Ann Summers chain, famous for selling the Rampant Rabbit adult- entertainment device, can barely contain her frustration. She hasn’t yet received an invitation to the social event of the year — Her Majesty’s party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the “excellence of women”.

  Gold told Prufrock: “I’m looking forward to receiving my invitation from the Queen to celebrate the excellence of women. Perhaps she should ask her granddaughter, Zara Phillips, who is a customer and recently held an Ann Summers party at her mother’s house.

  “As chief executive of Ann Summers and Knickerbox, which are run by women for women, it would be a great snub to our thousands of employees and millions of customers that we, too, cannot celebrate the excellence of women.”

  Prufrock is sure the card must have got lost in the post. We hope this friction will come to a speedy resolution. Or perhaps Gold could extend a return invitation.

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