Talk about staying the course. Halliburton has delayed floating its subsidiary KBR by a day but refused a request by the British Ministry of Defence to shelve the plan. The oil service company that was once run by US vice-president Dick Cheney remains eager to get rid of its remaining stake through a spin-off.

Last week’s elections and the prospect of congressional oversight into KBR’s role as the Pentagon’s largest contractor in Iraq have made an exit all the more urgent. That makes it surprising that Halliburton did not address British concerns over KBR’s stand-alone financial viability earlier. As the majority owner of the Devonport naval dockyard, KBR’s responsibilities include refuelling Britain’s nuclear submarines.