Johnson et al are doing many good things, including the return of sales.

FORBES: JCPenney Goes Pop

Since that first announcement, Johnson et al have tinkered with the strategy and tried to put a positive spin on things.

FORBES: Mission Accomplished: J.C. Penney Was The Most Interesting Retailer of 2012

But Johnson says al-Qaida got a shot in the arm in February 2006, when 23 prisoners escaped from a jail in downtown San'a.

NPR: Embassy Attack Marks Rise Of Al-Qaida In Yemen

Hillary Clinton(5) can be linked to dozens of women on our list, but most recently Melinda Gates(27), Katie Couric(22), Queen Rania Al Abdullah(76), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf(86), Andrea Jung(57), Gisele Bundchen(72) and the scores of other women who were present at the Clinton Global Initiative in NYC last month.

FORBES: Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour & Oprah��s Inner Circle of Power

Mr Mercer has written to Home Secretary Alan Johnson for clarification on exactly how far, if at all, the reported al-Qaeda sympathisers got in the organisation before they were ejected.

BBC: Al-Qaeda 'seek to infiltrate MI5'