City Editor Says Sorrell Is Making A Bad Move

The City editor of the Evening Standard, Chris Blackhurst, has condemned Sir Martin Sorrell’s plans to relocate WPP’s domicile to Ireland.

In an article published yesterday, Blackhurst said he disapproved of Sorrell’s decision to move WPP’s British headquarters to Ireland to avoid the threat of higher corporation tax.

He said: “I’m baffled by the decision of Sir Martin Sorrell to persist with relocating his WPP group’s domicile to Ireland.”

“The threat of Sorrell to join others that had already indicated an intention to depart was not an idle one,” he added.

Blackhurst said although Sorrell is an “industry champion”, he thinks this is a bad move: “Frankly, it sticks in the craw. Even the way it was announced, during the worst crisis we have faced in years, smacked of deliberate timing.”

He added that Sorrell has been treated well by the government and the country, pointing to his knighthood in the 2000 New Year Honours, and his roles with the Government’s Modern Apprenticeship Taskforce and its Council for Excellence.

Sorrell, chief executive of the giant advertising agency, is also Ambassador for British Business and just last month Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, named him as chair of his International Business Advisory Council.

Blackhurst believes that other UK-based multinationals have “lobbied hard” on the issue of Treasury attempts to attack foreign earnings and says the “Government has shown signs of softening its stance”.

“Not everyone has done a Sorrell and fled,” he added. “If other large companies were to follow his example the damage to the nation’s coffers would be enormous.”

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