M&S: Too much tat, too expensive'

TERESA Vanneck-Surplice shot to fame at a Marks & Spencer annual meeting five years ago, when she told the board: 'Your undies are boring.' Her knickers were bought at Bhs, she said.

Her headline-grabbing rant highlighted all that was wrong with the High Street icon.

Last week, we took her shopping at M&S's huge store in Kensington, west London.

'There's still too much tat for far too much money with no clear idea of who it's supposed to be for,' said Vanneck-Surplice, owner of the Arts and Tarts gallery in Richmond, Surrey.

Her verdict on M&S's latest lines in lingerie? 'Tacky, cheap, bordello chic.' She would not say whose undies she now favours.

As an M&S shareholder and customer, how does Vanneck-Surplice view the prospect of Philip Green running the show?

She has no doubts about his ability to revive M&S's fortunes and is a big fan of Bhs, part of the billionaire's retail empire. But she believes Green is not the right person to control M&S.

'I have nothing against him but I would hate to see him as owner of M&S. It is an institution and the last thing I want is for him to turn M&S into an upmarket Bhs.'