Sorrell in Confrontation with Former Colleague

WPP founder Sir Martin Sorrell has allegedly been involved in an 'explosive confrontation' with former colleague Jim Prior, over critical remarks he made about Sorrell to Campaign magazine. According to one eyewitness quoted in the FT, the bust-up led to Sorrell slapping Prior in the face.

The incident came as Sorrell met Prior - CEO of WPP's brand agency network Superunion - in the speakers' room at the recent Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. The FT's front-page report includes the claim that Sorrell slapped Prior on the cheek and then launched into a tirade about a 2018 interview with Campaign, in which Prior described Sorrell's new firm S4 Capital as a 'speck in the rear-view mirror'. Sorrell admitted that he had taken Prior to task about the comments made in Campaign, but added that 'when you are in a car crash, the speck catches up fast'. Witnesses say there was swearing and shouting between 'a taller man and a shorter one'.

WPP's lawyers have since sent Sorrell a written complaint about the alleged slap, and WPP said in a statement: 'We take our responsibilities to our people very seriously and have raised this with Sir Martin'.

Sorrell set up S4 Capital last year after leaving WPP abruptly amid media claims of personal misconduct, which he rejected 'unreservedly'. Since the launch, he has repeatedly criticised WPP and its leaders. Sorrell has denied that the slap took place and said in a statement: 'This seems to be the latest attempt by WPP to undermine what we're building at S4 Capital with a playbook that includes leaking data and using anonymous sources'.

Web sites: www.wpp.com and www.s4capital.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.