"people unaware of the mysteries of negotiations between great companies..." Harold Macmillan's Government was encouraged to become involved on British Aluminium's side (he knew both Portal and Stedeford well), but declined, realising that change was needed and that any intervention on the side of British Aluminium would be politically disastrous, in light of Portal's total disregard of his investors' best interests. The Aluminium War rewrote the way the City conducted its business in relation to shareholders and investors, resulting in a more open and competitive landscape. It was the first stage in a process that led to the Big Bang reform of 1986, allowing the City to dominate the international finance markets. Public service He was a Governor of the BBC, having been a member of the Beveridge Committee on its structure. He was also a member of the boards of the Bank of England and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. He was on the council of the Department of Scientific Research and a member of the board of the Commonwealth Development Finance Company. He was invited in 1960 by the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, to become the Chairman of an Advisory Group on the state of British transport, which became known as the Stedeford Committee. Also on the Committee was Dr Richard Beeching, and the two men clashed on a number of issues connected with Beeching's proposals to reduce drastically the rail infrastructure of Great Britain. In spite of questions being asked in Parliament, Sir Ivan's report was not published at the time. A set of proposals for the future of the railways that came to be known as the "Beeching Plan" (more usually known as the "Beeching Cuts" or "Beeching Axe") was adopted by the Government, resulting in the closure of a third of the rail network and the scrapping of a third of a million freight wagons, much as Stedeford had foreseen and fought against. Stedeford's knighthood was advanced to Knight Grand Cross (GBE) in 1961 for public service. Character "Sir Ivan always carried his responsibility with a lack of fuss and drama. A tall, slim man, with a rich sense of humour and a scholarly turn of mind he possessed remarkable reserves of energy. He was an engaging conversationalist and writer and a doughty debater. Though he always looked upon the welfare of all employees as a major charge there was no paternalism in his attitude.