Russell Brand’s former boss at the BBC will be required to cooperate with an investigation into his alleged wrongdoing.

Ex-Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas has reportedly been freed from a confidentiality agreement so her role in the scandal can be examined.

A BBC insider told the Sunday Times that director general Tim Davie ‘will want her to have to answer questions, because the buck stopped with Lesley.’

Davie’s predecessor Sir Mark Thompson will also be quizzed about what he knew after it emerged that he reassured MPs that Brand’s show was not ‘an accident waiting to happen’ during an appearance before the culture, media and sport committee shortly after Sachsgate.

Douglas, who personally gave Brand a string of high-profile BBC roles, allegedly ignored whistleblowers who complained of Brand’s ‘aggression and disrespect’ in 2007.

Russell Brand ’s former boss at the BBC, ex-Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas, will be required to cooperate with an investigation into his alleged wrongdoing. Pictured: Brand and Douglas at the MITS awards in 2009 

The allegations, which included claims that Brand urinated into a bottle in full view of a guest who ‘appeared to be a minor’, were not included in the official Sachsgate reports

The allegations, which included claims that Brand urinated into a bottle in full view of a guest who ‘appeared to be a minor’, were not included in the official Sachsgate reports.

When initially approached by the Sunday Times earlier this month, Douglas referred the matter to her lawyers who insisted she ‘did not at any time encourage, enable and/or fail herself to take any adequate steps within her power with regard to the conduct of Russell Brand of which she was aware.’

Thompson’s spokesman said: ‘Mark Thompson’s record in taking immediate action in respect to completely appalling behaviour by Russell Brand on BBC radio is clear and has been well reported on. 

Like everyone, Mark is horrified by the alleged behaviours of Russell Brand that have recently come to light.’

Yesterday it emerged that Brand was interviewed under caution in 2014 over claims he assaulted a masseuse after she was hired to give him a £500 birthday massage.

Yesterday it emerged that Brand was interviewed under caution in 2014 over claims he assaulted a masseuse after she was hired to give him a £500 birthday massage

The alleged victim reportedly told police she was ‘touched’ by Brand, 48, at a £5million mansion in Oxfordshire, which she said traumatised her.

The claims, reported by The Sun on Sunday, are the first known instance of the comedian being interviewed by police over assault allegations.

The masseuse, who was reportedly hired to give Brand a massage in June 2014, contacted Thames Valley Police. The comedian denied any wrongdoing in his interview and the case was dropped.

Police say Brand told them he was uneasy when the woman arrived and decided to back out of the massage – and was then escorted out of the house and left.

He said it was friendly but awkward.

Brand claimed CCTV supported his version of the story, and the police told Brand later they were not pursuing the matter.

A cryptocurrency boss has been jailed for more than 11,000 years after swindling investors out of millions of dollars.

Faruk Faith Ozer, founder of Thodex, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison despite prosecutors request for a 40,562-year sentence.

The Turkish high school dropout was 22 when he started his own business, but on Thursday he was found guilty of money laundering, fraud, and organised crime.

It comes after the 29-year-old fled to Albania in 2021 with investor funds following the collapse of his business.

However, after Interpol issued a red notice for him, Ozer was located after two years on the run.

Faruk Faith Ozer was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison at a Turkish court 

Authorities immediately extradited him back to his home country, where he faced criminal charges.

According to state media, it is believed that Ozer took $2 billion (£1.6 billion) from his customers before he went into hiding in Albania.

But the total amount of damages experienced by investors when Thodex went bankrupt is unknown.

According to the Anadolu agency, Ozer told the court: “I am smart enough to manage all institutions in the world. This is evident from the company I founded at the age of 22. If I were to establish a criminal organisation, I would not act so amateurishly.”

Ozer went into hiding after his business collapsed in 2021 but he was located in Albania two years later 

At an Istanbul court, Ozer, recived the hefty sentence alongside his sister Serap and brother Guven who were also found guilty of the same charges.

This lengthy sentence would be a shock to some people, but in Turkey, it’s quite common.

This legislation became more frequent after Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 in the hope of becoming part of the European Union.

In 2022, Adnan Oktar, a cult leader, was sentenced to 8,658 years in prison on several charges, including sexual abuse and depriving someone of their liberty.

French side Lyon are reportedly targeting Graham Potter as a potential successor for their under-fire manager Laurent Blanc.

Lyon have endured a miserable start to their Ligue 1 season with one point in four games leaving them bottom of the table. 

Players were given a dressing down by the club’s ultras after their 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend, with the club now said to be looking into replacements for Blanc.

French outlet L’Equipe have now reported that Potter held an interview with the club’s American owner John Textor on Tuesday over the managerial position.

Lyon are considering him as a replacement for Blanc, while Potter himself is said to be interested in the project at the Groupama Stadium.

Graham Potter is reportedly in talks to become the next manager of French side Lyon

Lyon are bottom of Ligue 1 with one point in four games and players were given an extraordinary dressing down by their fans on Sunday after a 4-1 defeat against PSG

The French side are considering potential replacements for under-fire boss Laurent Blanc

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April, after less than seven months in charge.

The 48-year-old suffered 11 defeats in 31 games after replacing Thomas Tuchel, as he struggled to deal with Chelsea’s bloated squad following their heavy spending last season.

Potter though did impress at Brighton beforehand, leading them to their first top-half finish in 2022 since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2017.

He had previously been in contention to become manager of Nice, before the French side instead decided to hire 34-year-old Francesco Farioli from Turkish side Alanyaspor in June. 

Lyon were once the top team in France, winning the Ligue 1 title in seven straight seasons from 2002 to 2008.

However, they have not won a league title since with Paris Saint-Germain dominating the league over the past decade. 

Lyon were 4-0 down at half-time against PSG at the weekend thanks to a Kylian Mbappe brace and goals from Achraf Hakimi and summer signing Marco Asensio. 

Corentin Tolisso’s second-half penalty provided some scant consolation for Lyon, who also suffered a 4-1 loss to Montpellier last month.

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April after less than seven months in charge

After the final whistle against PSG, the players stood in front of the Virage Nord, the end housing the Bad Gones ultras – Lyon’s most prominent ultras group and one of the biggest in Ligue 1.

Lyon players sheepishly stared towards the stands as one of the ultras leaders addressed them with a megaphone.

‘To the Olympique Lyonnais 2023-2024 squad, this message is addressed to you,’ he said.

‘To those who assume the status of dressing-room leaders, the message is clear: If there are leaders in this dressing room, they no longer have the right to remain silent.

‘You’re wearing the Olympique Lyonnais jersey. You’re the ones who wear the Olympique Lyon jersey.

‘Others before you have worn it, glorified it.

Lyon players were warned against ‘smearing’ the club’s shirt after losing 4-1 to PSG

One of the leaders of the Bad Gones ultras group urged the team’s leaders to step up

‘You don’t have the right to tarnish it. Now that the transfer window is over, the squad is here. All we ask is to be by your side.

‘But to do that, you’re going to have to earn it. We love and respect this shirt.

‘There’s only one other thing we ask: to sing your names. Sing them with love, not like we sang the names of the little *******. who have left our club in the last six months.

‘We want to sing your names with respect, with love. Because we know you play with love.

‘But we expect you guys to respect our jersey […] and if we have to take our losses to do so with our heads held high. Go OL.’

Banknote printer De La Rue could face a backlash against chairman Clive Whiley at its annual meeting next week.

The company appointed the City veteran in May. 

But leading advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services said in a report that he already has several other commitments and that these ‘could compromise his ability to commit sufficient time to his role’ at De La Rue.

Taking a hit: De La Rue is going through a tricky period after issuing a profit warning in April

Whiley, 63, is also the chairman of Mothercare and the senior independent director at Sportech and Griffin Mining.

ISS flagged particular concern about a consultancy agreement he has with Griffin, which requires him to devote 25 per cent of his time to the company.

De La Rue is going through a tricky period after issuing a profit warning in April, when it said business was being hit by people using less and less cash.

The firm, which counts many of the world’s major central banks among its customers, declined to comment.

Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Hays, Harbour Energy, Intertek and James Cropper. Read the Thursday 24 August Business Live blog below.

> If you are using our app or a third-party site click here to read Business Live 

Aldi offers lifeline to Wilko workers and says it has 6k jobs open

Aldi UK has called on Wilko workers fearful of losing their jobs to get in touch as the supermarket has over 6,000 store vacancies available.

Aldi previously said it was creating 800 jobs in its new stores over the coming months and today added that it was also recruiting for a ‘large volume’ of other store roles across the country as its expansion continues.

OSB Group tops FTSE 350 fallers

Liontrust shares rise 10% in early trading

Hays appoints new boss and warns of more job cuts

Recruitment groups Hays has appointed insider Dirk Hahn as its new chief executive, while also seeing its profit fall in the last year and warning of fresh job cuts.

This follows an announcement on 23 February that the company had started a process to identify a successor to Alistair Cox.

Lord King says the time for interest rates hikes is over

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King claimed yesterday the time for rapid interest rate increases is over as shock economic figures raised fears that Britain is heading for recession.

The data showed private sector output shrank this month at the fastest pace since January 2021 when Britain was in lockdown.

Hays appoints new boss and warns of more job cuts

Recruitment groups Hays has appointed insider Dirk Hahn as its new chief executive, while also seeing its profit fall in the last year and warning of fresh job cuts.

This follows an announcement on 23 February that the company had started a process to identify a successor to Alistair Cox.

Sterling and gilt yields fall as recession fears mount

Sterling and gilt yields tumbled yesterday as mounting fears of recession saw investors scale back bets on where interest rates will peak.

As central bankers headed to Jackson Hole in Wyoming in the US for their annual chinwag, a set of bleak reports showed private sector activity across Britain and the eurozone in sharp decline as inflation and rising borrowing costs take their toll.

More homes hit lettings market as sales stall – so will rents go down?

More homes are going up for rent, as stubborn owners increasingly shift from selling to letting when they don’t get the price they want.

Two years of near-double digit rent increases have seen renting become increasingly expensive, with demand from tenants far outstripping the supply of homes.

Hundreds of Wilko stores to close after rescue fails

Hundreds of Wilko stores are set to close and thousands of staff will lose their jobs after talks to buy it collapsed without a rescue deal last night.

The 93-year-old chain tumbled into administration this month – putting 400 stores and 12,000 jobs at risk.

North Sea firm cuts UK production as windfall tax backfires

North Sea oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy said the windfall tax has forced it to slash production in the UK.

The FTSE 250 company said it was writing off £58m as a direct impact from the levy, pushing it to scale back plans for the second half of 2023 and into 2024.

The FTSE 100 index opened at 7320.53

The pound at 8am was $1.2704 compared to $1.2713 at the previous close.

Lufthansa’s cabin crew welcomed a new team member earlier this month – but he wasn’t a standard new hire.

The German airline’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jens Ritter, worked as cabin crew in both business class and economy class on daytime and overnight flights heading between Riyadh, Bahrain and Frankfurt. 

Ritter, who has been running the airline since April 2022, opened up about the ‘challenging’ experience on LinkedIn, sharing pictures of himself in traditional crew uniform.

One image shows him serving a passenger a beverage, while in another, he’s pushing the flight attendants’ drinks trolley.

He said that his time as crew was ‘about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’ and described it as an ‘enriching and a powerful experience’. 

Lufthansa’s CEO Jens Ritter worked as cabin crew in both business class and economy class earlier this month 

‘I was astonished how much I learned in these few hours,’ he said, adding that the decisions he makes in the Lufthansa offices going forward will be ‘different’ now that he’s seen what the crew do during their time on board. 

‘Sometimes, you need to change perspectives in order to gain new insights,’ he said.

He continued: ‘I was amazed by how much there is to organise, especially, if something doesn’t go as planned – for example, the meals offered on the menu cards were not exactly the meals loaded on board.’ Ritter noted that they have since fixed this issue internally. 

The experience of working on an overnight flight was particularly challenging for the airline boss. Ritter, who started out his aviation career as an Airbus A320 pilot in 2000, says he’d previously ‘thought he knew about the challenges a flight during the night entails’ thanks to his background as a pilot, but admits he had a lot to learn. 

Praising the overnight crew, he explains: ‘To be present and attentive and charming – when the biological clock just tells you to sleep – was something entirely different.’

Ritter, who has been running the airline since April 2022, opened up about the ‘challenging’ experience on LinkedIn

Ritter, pictured above with the Lufthansa team, says the decisions he makes in the Lufthansa offices going forward will be ‘different’ now that he’s seen what the crew do on board

Ritter can be seen serving a beverage to a passenger during the flight 

The father-of-three says that he ‘enjoyed every moment’ spent looking after the passengers, adding: ‘It was so interesting to address the guests’ wishes individually, to deal with the different energy everyone has.’

He added that the crew ‘was terrific and welcomed [him] into their team right away’. 

Ritter’s experience echoes the popular American reality TV series ‘Undercover Boss’, which sees senior company executives anonymously working within a department of their firm to investigate its inner workings.

His LinkedIn post has garnered more than 5,000 likes, with LinkedIn user Christopher Babayode wondering what the airline executive would ‘like to see improved’ to enable his crews to better excel at their roles. 

Ritter replied: ‘On the one hand it is all about stability and reliability. Because I think our crews already do a great job. 

‘However, the aviation industry suffers from lack of staff, broken supply chains, lack of aircraft and many other problems. If we fix this – their job would be a lot easier.’

He added: ‘On the other hand I think that everyone likes working if they feel being seen and appreciated and psychologically safe. This is something else I am trying hard to improve!’ 

YouGov has insisted it is not abandoning London after its boss suggested it could be eyeing a US listing.

Co-founder and chairman Stephan Shakespeare sparked speculation it was about to jump ship by saying the US felt like a ‘natural base’ for the company.

He suggested the polling firm, which he set up in 2000 with ex-Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi, was big enough to float across the Atlantic after it acquired German market research group GfK for £271million earlier this year.

American dreams: YouGov chairman Stephan Shakespeare (pictured) sparked speculation the firm was about to jump ship by saying the US felt like a ‘natural base’ for the company

He told the Financial Times: ‘The US spends the most on marketing data. They are the most savvy. It is a natural base.’

Shakespeare also said that US markets were better at supporting companies than the UK was. But the company insisted a move is not on the cards.

A spokesman for YouGov said: ‘The board routinely considers all its listing options, including a premium listing on the LSE. No decision has been made and a US listing is not being considered in the near term.’

YouGov’s departure from the London market would be another blow to the City.

John Lewis Partnership’s boss has revealed he expects the middle-class store chain to offer its clientele Klarna-style buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) deals in future.

Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Nish Kankiwala, who was appointed as the John Lewis and Waitrose group’s first-ever CEO in March, said: ‘I think we will develop a buy-now-pay-later product. Especially in the younger generation, people expect it.’

Introducing buy-now-pay-later at John Lewis, whose stores are a byword for respectability, would mark a watershed moment for the industry, which has boomed in recent years.

Nearly 9 million Britons last year used BNPL – which allows customers to pay for purchases in interest-free instalments spread typically over three months.

But despite its popularity, it has an image problem with many claiming it lures customers into debt. Most BNPL users are female and the average purchase is £80. It is most frequently used to buy shoes and other fashion items.

The future?: Introducing buy-now-pay-later at John Lewis would mark a watershed moment for the industry

Paying by instalments is popular with younger shoppers, but it has been spreading rapidly to older age groups.

The average age of a customer at Klarna, the biggest BNPL operator, is 36. The fastest growing age group is 58-plus.

John Lewis already offers its own version of BNPL, but only on some higher-priced home and nursery items costing more than £500. Unlike other major retailers, shoppers on the John Lewis website cannot opt to pay with Klarna or rival operators such as Clearpay and Laybuy.

Full-scale BNPL is not being rolled out at the store chain in the immediate future.

In a separate push, John Lewis will this autumn introduce an interest-bearing credit option charging 16.9 per cent on electrical goods bought online or through its app. This will be extended to furniture and purchases made in store. Under a five-year plan drawn up by chairman Dame Sharon White, the Partnership is investing £100 million in expanding its financial services business, which it is planning on quadrupling in the next five years.

Critics are likely to be alarmed that the John Lewis CEO is contemplating full-scale BNPL as this would be seen as a badge of social acceptance.

The Treasury has promised to regulate the industry, but this remains under review.