The fiasco grows at Sainsbury

SAINSBURY is locked in a behind-the-scenes war of words with top City headhunter Whitehead Mann over the failed appointment of Sir Ian Prosser as deputy chairman.

Each is blaming the other for the fiasco that saw Prosser named and then ditched as chairman-designate after intense pressure from Sainsbury shareholders.

Whitehead Mann now looks likely to be dropped by Sainsbury's nomination committee, led by Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd's of London, when it meets to discuss the renewed search.

According to sources close to Whitehead Mann, the headhunter is furious that Sainsbury directors have accused its founder, Anna Mann, of misjudging the process and failing to consult City shareholders.

'Anna was not responsible for checking the reaction in the City --the contract clearly showed that Sainsbury would be undertaking that task,' said a Whitehead Mann source.