"Our strategic investments are delivering," said BT chief executive Gavin Patterson.
"It's a massive job: you need somebody with actual experience, somebody with a record of delivering," said an aide to Burnham.
"The February meeting will give us a better sense of whether the EU-Turkey deal is delivering," said Mujtaba Rahman, head of European analysis at Eurasia group, a risk consultancy.
"There's no clearer message that we can deliver from Supporters Direct, supporters' trusts, and parliament than: 'The time has come to stop talking and start delivering'," said the Supporters Direct chief executive, David Lampitt.
In that context, the videotaped statement could be an effort by Mr. Larijani to embarrass Mr. Ahmadinejad by suggesting to the Brazilians that "Ahmadinejad is either unwilling or incapable of delivering," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Seething about coverage that made it look as if the administration were protecting a dictator and ignoring the pleas of the youths of Cairo, the president "made it clear that this was not the message we should be delivering," said one official who was present.
