Mr Hampton will step down before November 2002, when his contract expires. According to the Financial Times, Mr Hampton is leaving to seek new challenges.

There had been speculation that Mr Hampton would replace Sir Peter Bonfield as the company’s CEO. His stand down makes it even more likely that the company will look outside its doors for a replacement.

BT’s shareholders took a double blow as the company reported a £1.35 billion loss for Q2. In Q2 of 2000 BT made a profit of £471 million, showing how steep the troubled operator’s fall from grace has been.