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BOI chief confirms 'rumours'
The UPFA government's first casualty, Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) Lalith de Mel confirmed what he last week insisted in telling us were "rumours" - his resignation from the job.

The businessman who also sits on the board of the UK firm Reckitt & Benckisser in London said he was quitting after just two months in the job for "personal reasons".

Last week, The Sunday Times reported an influential Cabinet Minister complaining to President Chandrika Kumaratunga that Mr. de Mel spent two weeks in London and only the balance in Colombo at his BOI posting.

According to BOI insiders, Mr. de Mel had also been unwilling to carry out certain political directives to launch a purge of officials who had been recruited by the previous UNF administration.

Mr. de Mel last night told The Sunday Times that he did not want to comment on the reasons for his resignation, and simply maintained that it was for "personal reasons".

He confirmed that he has been appointed a Director of the Browns Group of Companies in Colombo since he resigned from his BOI post earlier this week.
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