The ugly dismissal of Michael Green would never have happened had Carlton's non-executive directors listened to shareholder concerns earlier, according to Simon Fraser, chief investment officer of Fidelity in the UK.

He points out it took "very little time" for Fidelity, the fund management group with a 7% stake in Granada and 11% of Carlton, to garner substantial support for Green's removal this month in the wake of the failure of the non-executives to respond to its complaints.