Eurotunnel is stripping its original shareholders, who date back to the 1987 flotation, of their free travel privileges. These were an important reason for buying the shares in the much-hyped float.

Alas, the Chunnel has been through several refinancings since and the latest means the perks have to go. The 5,000 initial shareholders will get a less generous scheme, along with the other 500,000 investors, that gives them 30 per cent off three trips a year. Those original shareholders are unhappy and are talking about legal action. But there seems to be no alternative. Under Takeover Panel rules governing the latest rescue, all shareholders must be treated alike. The alternative, extending free travel to half a million people, was obviously a nonstarter.

Salvage rewards sink

This is Robin Middleton, commercial diver, one-time salvage master, former underwater stuntman and the Transport Secretary’s representative in charge of stricken vessels around the UK. He has just been awarded the Lloyd’s List Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on the MSC Napoli, that container ship that was wrecked off Dorset. Apparently, the decision to beach it meant the containers did not float off to become a danger to shipping. Middleton gets a nice commendation but in other times his reward could have been more tangible. My historical research shows that Lloyd’s used to run a Patriotic Fund for those who avoided the loss of shipping, such as successful admirals against the French. The reward was an enormous jewel-encrusted sword.

Son’s Wikid sense of online humour

The entry on Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia you know you can’t trust, for Tim Besley notes that he has served on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee since September last year “and is also my dad! He is bald and wears geeky specs. He looks a bit too much like Andrew Marr.” (True, apparently.) His unofficial biographer also notes that he last year won the Yrjo Jahnsson Award for European economics “which I didn’t hear of until he won it for geeky economicscs (sic)”. Wikipedia is, of course, written by those with an interest in the subject and is largely unedited. And Besley has offspring of the appropriate age.

Someone has posted a petition on the Downing Street website calling for the reinstatement of the dividend tax credit which Gordon Brown stole on coming to power ten years ago. (Incidentally, is it just me, or are any of the celebrations there may be to mark the anniversary a bit muted?) “It is poor pensioners who suffer most,” says the petition. “Please correct this injustice.” I will monitor how many signatures it gets, but I should warn that, however great the number, success is not guaranteed.

Ken Frost, campaigning Croydon accountant and occasional visitor to this column, is selling his collection of virtually every Accountancy magazine printed since its inception in 1984, good condition, on his website. Go on, Ken, tell us they’re neatly filed away in the wardrobe, behind your collection of anoraks, which are carefully arranged according to colour.

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