The tycoon behind TV’s The Apprentice will sit on a special Business Leaders Council alongside other industry figures, despite the turbulent ride of his electronics company’s shares over the past seven years.

Amstrad suffered a 16 per cent fall in profits and a one fifth drop in sales when it last reported results.

The shares peaked at 600p during the dotcom boom but dived to 118p. The council will include Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose and Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy. It will meet two or three times a year and will advise Mr Brown on whether Government policy is helping or damaging Britain’s competitiveness.

Investors met the hand­over from Blair to Brown  with a lukewarm response.

It failed to lift the gloomy mood on the stock market, where the prospect of higher interest rates left the FTSE 100 blue chip index down 31.7 points to 6527.6.

What do YOU think? Should Gordon stop pandering to celebrities and seek serious business advice or is Sugar the best man for the job?