Sir Alan quits as new apprentice phones in sick

Sir Alan Sugar, who has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, is reported to be furious after The Apprentice winner Lee McQueen failed to turn up for his first day working for the straight talking entrepreneur.

According to press reports, the 30-year old former recruitment sales manager, who secured the £100,000 a year job after winning the popular BBC TV series, phoned in on Monday morning to say he was feeling ill.

An insider told one newspaper that the no-show by McQueen, who returned from a week's holiday in Spain with his girlfriend on Sunday, would make Sir Alan Sugar "really cross".

Speaking to the Press Association, an Amstrad spokesperson said the company had known about McQueen's "flu-like virus" for three or four days. "He's frustrated that he can't be at work because he wants to get going but he knows that needs to be at home," the spokesperson added.