THE chairman of Marks and Spencer has defended the company after poor trading figures led to a call for his resignation.

Paul Myners said the company was doing the right things but that the impact of the changes at the company would not be seen until the next financial year.

Tony Shiret, a retail analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said Myners should consider his position given the abysmal performance of M&S since last summer.

The call came after it was announced that like-for-like sales at Marks and Spencer fell by six per cent over the 13 weeks to January 1. Shiret described the figures as 'a complete fiasco'.