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Alumna to be proud of No 49 is at the centre of what may have been the most vitriolic exhange yet between a privatised company and its regulator.

Clare Spottiswoode, director general of gas supply, is the woman who has ordered British Gas to cut its bills by Pounds 30 a year per customer, yielding claims that this will lead to 10,000 job losses and threaten safety.

She learned her tough ways at 11 different schools culminating with Cheltenham Ladies College. Ms Spottiswoode then went to Clare College Cambridge, where she studied maths and economics. She finished off with an MPhil at Yale and has taught at the London Business School.