Ex-teacher challenges Standard Life

THE mutual status of insurance giant Standard Life was yesterday threatened by a retired teacher armed with a battered shopping cart stuffed with bundles of signatures.

David Stonebanks, 64, of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, handed in a petition from nearly 2,000 members at the company’s plush Edinburgh headquarters demanding a vote for demutualisation.

He said the firm’s 2.6 million members would receive an average windfall of €3,600 or €28,800 if it was floated on the stock exchange.