Sir Alan's aide judges DLA debating competition

The Apprentice star Margaret Mountford swapped the boardroom for the classroom last week when she went back to university to judge the grand final of DLA Piper’s annual debating competition.

Alan Sugar’s quick-witted aide travelled to Manchester University in a bid to decide which team should face the axe in the final of a debating competition, which has been sponsored by the firm for more than 10 years.

Although the lawyer-turned-TV star did not get to utter her co-star’s famous phrase “you’re fired” to the losing team, DLA’s graduate recruitment executive Claire Evans said that Mountford told contestants how impressed she was with the standard of debating at the event.

Evans said: “When awarding prizes to the wining team she discussed how she felt debating was a vital skill to have going into a working environment and how some people on The Apprentice show this skill more than others.”

The winning team, third year law students Hannah Gates and Karamvir Chadha, were awarded with book vouchers and a dinner date with Mountford for their vocal dexterity.