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From The Times
January 18, 2006

People by Hugo Rifkind

HE MIGHT not look like a man who would take great steps to avoid a pie, but according to one environmental protester, this is exactly what Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the charismatic founder of easyJet, has been doing.

In recent months, Rebecca Lush, a road protester, has hurled pies into the faces of Jeremy Clarkson and Alistair Darling. At one point, Stelios was to have been next.

On hearing of her plans to disrupt his launch of a scholarship at the London School of Economics, the airline boss offered to appear in a head-to-head debate on aviation and the environment instead.

“Has it happened?” says Lush. “Has it hell.” Back to pies at dawn, then? “Absolutely.”

Over to easyJet and, a while later, to Stelios himself. “I have just spoken to Rebecca,” he tells us, “and we have agreed on March 28. You know, I have never been shy of debating the environmental issue. Within airlines, I do believe that easyJet is much more environmentally friendly than many others.”

Sentiments shared earlier in the day by the company’s director of communications, Toby Nicol. “If she wants to target any f***ing airlines,” he fumed, “she should be having a go at Michael O’Leary.”

O’Leary is the Ryanair boss.

  • A press release from George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, pings into our inbox. Highlighting a recent fraud story, it says that “half of all applications for tax credits had to be halted”. Moments later a correction arrives. Instead of “half” this one reads “almost 40,000”. Actually, the story was about only online applications for tax credits (a small percentage of all applications), and “almost 40,000” is nowhere near half even of these, but somewhere under a tenth. What a Chancellor he’ll make.

    THE MIND BLOGGLES

    Celebrity Big Brother evictions tonight. Faria (the Sven ex), Pete (the cross-dresser) and Dennis (the biggest orc from Lord of the Rings) are all up for the chop.

    In other news, Sir Terry Wogan has politely ruled out his being among the inmates for the next series. “I’ve been asked to go on several shows,” he commented, “but my career is not yet in that desperate a state that I will make a spectacle of myself in front of the whole nation.”

    Eyes held open with matchsticks, at www.timesonline.co.uk/bbblog

    PS Alanis Morrisette, hitherto best known for possessing a voice like a pair of mating cats, has made a new year’s resolution to write her autobiography. “It will be all the wisdom I’ve accrued in my 31 years,” she declares. Without a hint of irony. Isn’t it ironic?

  • Has seeing Daniel Craig shaping up to play Bond finally tipped Pierce Brosnan over the edge? “I want to do more musicals, and more cross-dressing roles,” he said. “I really would like to explore that. And possibly in Vegas.” We think he was joking. But just imagine.

    people@thetimes.co.uk

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