Takeover panel hits Ryanair's Aer Lingus bid

Ryanair's bid to takeover Aer Lingus has been dealt a blow by the stock exchange takeover panel.

The panel, which is the watchdog on takeovers, has said that Ryanair broke stock exchange rules by making commitments to one of the Aer Lingus shareholders and not others when it offered the Government control over the Heathrow slots and offered bank guarantees on fares and fuel surcharges.