A PARTY mood flowed through British Telecom's headquarters in the City of London yesterday as its chief executive, Sir Peter Bonfield, announced the merger with American telephones giant MCI.

A jubilant Sir Peter spoke of a "historic day" and ordered the cracking open of champagne.

Beginning a question and answer session, he delighted journalists by saying: "Just to prove we are a different sort of company, we will have champagne while we answer your questions.

Earlier, Sir Peter punched the air, and gave a little jig as he described feeling "great" about completing one of the largest takeovers in the world. The sense of relief was palpable among those working on the deal, as they arrived to finalise details of the agreement.

One exhausted member of the group finance team spoke of "horrendous hours", as staff worked on the minutiae of the deal into the early hours of the morning.