Quoted from the article...
Quote:
“ Sir Alan Sugar, who was born in the East End, may have fallen into the trap of believing that flat Northern vowels denote stupidity, said Professor Robert Crystal, Honorary Professor of Linguistics Photo: MARTIN POPE”
Being from the North, I must have fallen into the trap of believing that being unable to use the correct tense ("Nick and Margaret was watching you") and a failure to grasp the very basics of English grammar denoted stupidity! (Sorry Sralan)