The City of London has lined up the next-but-one Lord Mayor, for 2008-2009. He is expected to be the tax accountant Ian Luder, a former chairman of the powerful finance committee and, in real life, a partner at Grant Thornton. It has been decided under new rules governing the mayorship that he will succeed David Lewis, who takes up office this autumn. Meanwhile, one of the “old guard” departs from the office of Alderman today, having been told he will not become Mayor. Richard Walduck, who steps down from the ward of Tower, used his final speech to the Court of Common Council to attack the rate of change in the City. He told the chamber that it “could well result in a vacancy here for the occupant of that curious glass blob across the river from Tower ward, who waits like a medieval antiPope to take over the Square Mile”.

“The goalposts have moved a little bit and my age has counted against me,” Walduck, 65, tells me.

Apax, the private equity house, has quietly hired a special adviser to Geoff Hoon, the former Defence Secretary and former Europe Minister who is now Chief Whip. James Connal, who once worked for the much-travelled Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, had been Hoon’s “Spad” for three and a half years and will be adviser to Lord Browne of Madingley, who chairs Apax’s advisory board. It is all part of the attempt by private equity to build bridges with Westminster, I am told. Well, that’s one way of looking at it. Connal is already at Apax, which suggests he had his exit strategy worked out well before “Buff” Hoon was shifted to his present post.

Tony Hayward presents his first results at BP today since taking over as chief executive two months ago. He doubtless will go on about the need to replenish reserves from far-flung parts of the world. I hear that Hayward, when he was rising in the BP ranks during the 1980s, once sought out black gold in an unconventional location. He was one of a team that carried out seismic tests along the Champs-Elysées towards the Arc de Triomphe – presumably as some sort of joke. Nothing was found. Even if it had been, I am not convinced the Parisians would have granted BP the necessary drilling permits

Distributor under the spell of Harry’s magic

A shame about all those drunks who made the purchase of the new Harry Potter book on Friday evening an upsetting experience for some young children, as I found out. But on to the obligatory J. K. Rowling story. AIM-listed Publishing Technology looks after distribution, royalties and other admin for the books industry. I am told by its chief executive, George Lossius, that Rowling’s arrival forced an upgrade of all its systems – the first time for any author – because the company couldn’t cope with all those noughts. “When we started out handling the books, I did think they would be just for children,” admits Lossius, who has just taken the seventh book on holiday with him.