Not the easiest to get on with but universally respected: Richard Parry-Jones
Mercurial describes very few in this world, but it’s an apt depiction of Richard Parry-Jones, Ford’s former head of global product development, who has died aged 69 in an accident at his farm in Wales.
RP-J, the Welsh wizard and Ford’s saviour would be other names, for this was a man who in his pomp would cross the Atlantic for a 20-minute drive in a prototype car, give his verdict to his engineers and catch the next plane back. Not the easiest to get on with, his direct, first-principles approach epitomised the engineer he was at heart, although he was also an accomplished player in the byzantine poker game of car-making politics.
The writer is an author and a lawyer based in Mumbai.
TWO events happened on April 12. The Election Commission of India took the drastic step of imposing a 24-hour ban on campaigning in the general elections to the assembly of West Bengal on the state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. Her crime was that she had made “highly insinuating and provocative remarks” regarding the ECI and the central forces.
The ECI’s indictment had another grave charge namely, her appeal to minority voters not to divide their votes. In the parlance of Indian media and officialdom, ‘minority’ is a euphemism for Muslims of course. They are the minority.
STOCK WATCH: Now who s favourite in William Hill takeover? dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Investors in William Hill are on tenterhooks after another week without a judgment on the scheme of arrangement to complete the £2.9billion sale to US rival Caesars.
Powerful hedge funds and their lawyers have objected to the board’s decision to recommend investors to approve Caesars’ offer, saying shareholders did not have enough information.
Court moles suggest the judge may simply be on holiday. But in an unusual twist, William Hill’s shares traded above the terms of Caesars’ takeover last week.
William Hill’s shares traded above the terms of Caesars’ takeover last week
Traders are betting that if the judge sides with the hedgies, either Caesars will have to stump up more or a rival bidder, such as Apollo, will step in with a better offer. Expect courtroom drama.
Credit: peter byrne/pa
SIR – My 94-year-old mother is in a nursing home in Cheshire. Up until Christmas, the matron and staff had done a wonderful job of protecting the residents. However, currently, the staff are exhausted and feel abandoned because many residents and staff have tested positive for Covid and there have been a number of deaths.
Since Christmas, the matron and relatives of residents have been contacting relevant people, including the local MP, trying to obtain a batch of vaccines, but to no avail.
I am in my 70s but I would happily give my vaccine to someone at that home. It makes no sense that all care homes are not prioritised.