Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
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Yesterday Jeremy Clarkson was suspended from Top Gear by the BBC following a ‘fracas’ with a member of staff. Today, the Telegraph reports that the incident occurred on set in Newcastle after the Top Gear presenter grew angry about the lack of catering arrangements for the crew, allegedly leading him to punch a show producer. While sources close to Clarkson deny
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Alan Bennett announced on Radio 4 last week that ‘hypocrisy’ is the defining characteristic of the English. ‘In England, what we do best is lip service,’ he sighed, before going on to admit that even he is a hypocrite. While many have taken issue with his claim, Mr S was reminded of Bennett’s words on a recent
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Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended from Top Gear following an alleged ‘fracas’ with a producer. What’s more, there will be no episode airing this Sunday while the BBC looks into the incident. A BBC spokesman confirms the suspension: ‘Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation. No one
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After Max Hastings wrote a column for the Daily Mail arguing that civil liberties groups should not get in the way of government security, Alan Rusbridger took the former Daily Telegraph editor to task for his comments. Speaking at a Big Brother Watch event last month, the Guardian editor offered up four reasons why Hastings was wrong
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A brave message from the Tory Whip’s Office last night, that sent Mr S’s pager buzzing: ‘Some cash has been found on the stairs leading up to the Ministerial Corridor – If you think this maybe yours please contact the whips admin unit on 4333’ There was not quite the stampede you might have expected
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This year’s Crufts has been something of a doggy disaster with one canine competitor dead from an alleged poisoning and six more cases being investigated. Now, Mr S has got wind of a new scandal engulfing the dog competition. A petition has been launched calling for the winning Scottish Terrier Knopa to be stripped of her Best in Show award. However, rather
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Poor old Andrew Lansley. When he quit as Health Secretary he was touted as Britain’s next EU Commissioner – that didn’t happen. In return for agreeing to stand down from parliament, he was promised another sinecure. David Cameron had been lining up his former Health Secretary (and former mentor) to become UN humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator. But
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Things became heated in the commons today after Barry Sheerman told Esther McVey to stop being a ‘hard-hearted Hannah’ during a Department for Work and Pensions questions. The incident occurred after Sheerman voiced his concerns over the department’s handling of the government’s welfare reforms. McVey has taken none too kindly to the term, which is a reference to an Ella
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Mr S was a guest at the press night of Ruby Wax’s one woman show at the St James Theatre. The comedian gave the audience a break down of her best selling book Sane New World, which tells you how to train your brain to cope with the demands of the 21st century. The topic of ambition was raised, with Wax making the point
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Mr S’s disclosure that the Electoral Commission have approved Al Murray’s Freedom United Kingdom Party as an official party for the election has not gone down well with Nigel Farage. The leader of Ukip says the decision is a ‘disgrace’ as FUKP are a joke party. Speaking at the Ukip South West conference, Farage called for everyone in the commission to
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After Mr S brought you the news last week that old-school anarchist and ‘Class War’ editor Ian Bone wanted to run in Kensington, his class struggle group – in a surprisingly officious process – held an ‘adoption meeting’ for him last night to make him their candidate. Bone updates Steerpike on his strategy: ‘If Dan Snow is adopted
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Oh dear, Mr S has some bad news for Nigel Farage. The Ukip leader’s South Thanet rival Al Murray has had his application to make the Freedom United Kingdom Party an officially registered political party approved. This means that he can now run for the coveted seat in May. The Electoral Commission has given the application
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‘What I’m seeing in this election is the influence of these big American advisers and it’s becoming the most negative, personal and nasty campaign I’ve ever seen.’ So said Nigel Farage to LBC this morning, as he promised to ‘rise above’ personal attacks in the coming election slog. Stung by rumours about his declining health,
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As Lord Ashcroft turned 69 this week, the international businessman celebrated with a polling event on his birthday to announce the impending Labour bloodbath north of the border: ‘Good evening and welcome. If you have ever wondered what a pollster does to celebrate his birthday, now you know. Somebody kindly asked me this morning if this
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This week Tony Blair donated £106,000 to the Labour Party, with £1,000 going to each Labour candidate fighting for a target seat. Ed Miliband has since faced flak for accepting the ‘blood money’ funds, due to unease over the source of the cash given Blair’s dealings with dictatorships such as Kazakhstan. Not that any of this is worrying
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Miriam Clegg said in a recent interview that she had banned her husband Nick Clegg from the kitchen on ‘health and safety grounds’. But happily, the leader of the Liberal Democrats can now have at least one dish to his name after spending a day making Cornish pasties as part of the St Piran’s Day festivities with
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The votes are in for the Guardian staff ballot. After Mr S reported a lacklustre display from all four internal candidates at the hustings, it is Katharine Viner who has come out on top. Viner, the current editor of Guardian US, is guaranteed a final round interview after winning with over 50 per cent of the vote. Of
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Mr S was a guest at last night’s Grazia ‘News at 10’ panel discussion, where Christina Lamb, Jayne Secker, Sue Turton, Emily Maitlis and Mishal Husain discussed their experiences as female newsreaders. For Maitlis, however, talk turned away from journalism and onto her first choice of career: ‘I never envisaged myself being a journalist – I
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Thanks to the internet, it has become increasingly difficult for politicians to hide any past indiscretions. However, this hasn’t put some MPs off from trying. Mr S has noticed some edits have recently been made to Tory MP Craig Whittaker’s Wikipedia profile. The page has had some interesting amendments, with two negative references to the MP for
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Jeffrey Archer is none too impressed with the Bollywood film industry. In an interview with India’s DNA Newspaper, he said that several Bollywood films have ripped off his books without his permission. The comments came after the convicted perjurer was asked whether his novels have the potential to translate into Hollywood films: ‘Well, forget Hollywood, just look at your Bollywood!
