Well we can thank Richard for demonstrating in a very tangible...

Well we can thank Richard for demonstrating in a very tangible way that 40% of the shareholders voting wanted to put a director in place that is prepared to take all shareholders seriously and upgrade the communications.

The chairman thanked Richard and seemed to have had a discussion along the lines of how they may be able to work with him in some way but they didn't really say what this is.

I think a 40% vote in favour of an external director was a pretty strong statement of support for a changed approach to dealing with shareholders.

Not sure the chairman really got the message though. He appears to see his role as primarily looking after the interests of the biggest shareholders with voting power. My understanding is that this is not the fiduciary duty that directors have legally. Which demonstrates why this initiative was important. I think it would be good in future if some of the institutional shareholders backed an independent director to try and remedy this.