Idiot guy at Alphaville

Fame at last for one-time fintech journo Paul Murphy, following a brief cameo appearance as 'idiot guy at Alphaville' in the Martin Luke’s column in today’s FT.

Old lags will remember Paul as the dishevelled Columbo-styled investigative reporter who covered the fintech beat for the Banker back in the late 1980s. He was also the man behind the scurrilous Charlotte Johnson gossip column and monthly reports – a bit like Private Eye for the fintech faithful but without the expensive legal back-up (how we never got sued I don’t know).   

Paul’s since moved on to bigger and better things with a succession of posts at some of the UK’s leading broadsheets. He currently heads up the FT’s Alphaville section, which provides rolling news and commentary on the financial markets.

Paul’s broken a lot of scoops in his time, but bagging an interview with Martin Lukes – the FT’s subtle, perceptive and all-too-true parody of the modern corporate leader - must surely be his finest hour.