Sir Stuart Rose, the head of Marks & Spencer, yesterday dismissed any comparison between himself and Pol Pot, the late Cambodian warlord, as he tried to defuse a row over his concentration of power at the high street chain.

Sir Stuart, who is due to become chairman as well as chief executive in June, joked that he was far from resembling the tyrannical leader, as critics had suggested after his promo-tion was announced on Monday.

He told a conference in London: “It’s not as if I’m Pol Pot here, going round and chopping off heads.

“It’s not as if I rigged the election. We have a united board and believe this to be in the best interests of the business.”

Legal & General, Marks & Spencer’s second-biggest shareholder, is furious over the management reshuffle, claiming that it goes against best City practice.

Marks & Spencer suffered a fall from grace in 1999 after the ousting of Sir Richard Greenbury, who was also given the dual role of chairman and chief executive.

Sir Stuart, who is now set to stay at M&S until 2011, reiterated that the effects of the credit crunch could continue to affect the high street until the middle of 2010.

He added that Alistair Darling had an impossible job given the turbulence buffeting Britain’s economy. He said: “I wouldn’t be the Chancellor for all the tea in China. The pips are beginning to squeak and there will be more pain before there is any relief. There is nothing much more he could have done in the Budget.”

Sir Stuart seemingly backed the call for a tax on plastic bags, saying that “talismanic” action needed to be taken to change customers’ behaviour and tackle climate change. He suggested that a “G7” of the country’s biggest retailers should get together and collaborate on environmental issues so that the retail sector could have a better dialogue with the Government.

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