Clive Cooke would have preferred to slide into his new job with slightly less fanfare. He takes up the hot seat this week as chief executive of City Index, the spread-betting firm that hit the headlines after The Plumber and The Spaniard contrived to bet £6m on the post-flotation price of Cyprotex, a biotechnology company.

And the seat may be a bit hotter than he expected, since he agreed to take on the post before the scandal broke. However, Cooke has said he can cope: 'I'm just fine, I can take it.'