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
After tying the knot with her toyboy lover Aaron Johnson, 22, in June, it seems the artist-turned-movie director Sam Taylor Wood, 45, is doing little to dispel the dominant old woman image. The cast list for the upcoming adaptation Anna Karenina with Keira Knightley has a new name on it: ‘Aaron Taylor Johnson’. It seems that 23-year age gap has got Taylor Johnson firmly under the thumb...
Yesterday Mr Steerpike brought you news that rapper Snoop Dogg had taken his ban from the country of Norway remarkably well. Perhaps I spoke too soon. The Artist Formally Known as Snoop Dogg told hacks in the Big Apple yesterday: ‘I want to bury Snoop Dogg, and become Snoop Lion’. Righty- ho. ‘I didn't know that until I went to the temple, where the High Priest asked me what my name was, and I said, "Snoop Dogg". And he looked me in my eyes and said, "No more. You are the light; you are the lion." From that moment on, it's like I had started to understand why I was there. This was like a rebirth for me.’ I see. With characteristic modesty the rapper also declared: ‘I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated. I feel I have always been a Rastafarian.
In what has to be one of the better put-downs ever delivered to the people of Norway, rapper Snoop Dogg has taken his two-year ban from the country well and truly on the chin. After hitting the multi-millionaire with a paltry 52,000kr fine after he was busted with eight grams of marijuana, a judge also revoked the rapper's access to the country. ‘Snoop can live with the decision,’ according to his lawyers.
While the ladies' beach volleyball is exciting Boris ‘glistening otters’ Johnson and the peeking Prime Minister, another event could be about to get very political. President Putin is set to arrive in town on Thursday: yes there will be bilateral meetings, but he’s really here for the judo. At a time when UK/Russian relations are particularly low, one Russian Embassy source jokes that perhaps diplomacy should be a little more hands on and that Putin should challenge fellow judo fan William Hague to a match. Sadly this will remain a pipe-dream, which is just as well - we would not want Hague’s old judo partner - Lord Sebastian Coe - to get jealous.
News reaches No. 22 that rising star of the right Milo Yiannopoulos, of Catholic Herald and tech-world fame, is to be nominated for Stonewall's 'Homophobe of the Year'. The news has come as a surprise to the flamboyant Yiannopoulos, who, despite arguing forcefully against gay marriage on Channel 4's risible 10 O'Clock Live, has never made a secret of his own sexuality. Then again, headlines such as 'The lingering stench of gay marriage', published after an appearance on Newsnight earlier in the year, may have contributed to the nomination. But the waspish columnist, recently dubbed the 'pit bull of tech media' by the Observer, need not worry about winning: Mr Steerpike understands that he's up against Ken Livingstone.
The Red Fort in Soho went multi-coloured last night as politcos from across the spectrum gathered to celebrate Keith Vaz’s 25th year in Parliament. Top of the a-list was Tony Blair, fresh from lunch at Downing Street with the Queen. No sign of his wife, again, but his son Euan was pressing the flesh. If the rumours that he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps are true, then this was the perfect event for him. Disgraced Phil Woolas was loitering in the shadows. The sacked MP for Oldham turned lobbyist was making a rare public appearance. But it was the presence of Home Secretary Theresa May which got tongues wagging.
Westminster's favourite shaggy-haired do-gooder Andrew Mitchell has been spilling his heart out to Total Politics about Maggie: ‘To me, she was a goddess. When she walked down the corridors, I used to stand stiffly to attention and hope she would pass by.’ Far too much information from the International Development Secretary, who is known to keep a bowl of condoms in on his ministerial desk, as part of a worldwide health campaign, of course.
With the South Africans slaughtering England at the Oval this weekend, Mr Steerpike was more intrigued by the goings-on off the pitch. Catching up with a super-skinny and immaculately preened Shane Warne, it would seem that the former Aussie spin-king is still very paranoid about being photographed smoking in public. Every time a small child came up demanding a photo, Warne risked setting fire to his tight Armani number by hiding his cigarette behind his back. Still, it’s an improvement on the ‘altercation’ he had in 2000 with some Kiwi lads who snapped him smoking whilst being sponsored by a nicotine patch company. No smashed cameras this time. Ed Miliband continued his normalisation process by appearing on Test Match Special.
If the new Labour HQ was meant to reflect a reinvigorated party then the blank white walls made for an obvious joke. With hacks and hackettes assembling for Ed Miliband’s summer drinks Labour command and control was going strong - red wine was banned, lest some spill it on the pristine new grey carpet. Expertly manoeuvred around the room by his spinners ex-Mirror man Bob Roberts and part-time standup comic Ayesha Hazarika, Ed looked like a man who knows he’s had a good few months. He’s got a long way to go to achieve the potential PM aura though. Sneaking out at the end unaccompanied does not really fit the look. There were a few notable absences.
When City AM editor Allister Heath was leaving the BBC’s Westminster studios on Friday, the last thing he would have expected was to be 'arrested'. Out popped an overexcited viewer of the Daily Politics who I hear accosted Heath declaring: 'I've got a warrant for your arrest'. The white envelope was quickly discarded. but a frothing anti-city rant ensued. A BBC snout tells me that Heath returned upstairs and was later smuggled out of the building while a quick-thinking BBC staff member distracted the lunatic. The irony of it all being that Heath had just spent the last hour slamming the banks and generally turning on the City, but this one was beyond reason.
What’s the best way to deal with a full onslaught against your industry? A damn good party of course. ‘Despite the dismal financial outlook, Square Mile magazine held their annual Summer Party on Friday 13th for 1,000 City bankers,’ proclaims one of the most gloriously offensive press releases that Mr Steerpike has seen in long time. There were apparently ‘no signs of the dismal economy’ as bankers ‘quaffed free Iceberg Vodka and Louis Roederer champagne and were entertained by fire-breathing strippers and snake charmers’.
Bryan Ferry CBE was on form last night, for his only UK appearance this year, at Guildford’s terribly middle-class Guilfest — the only festival I have ever seen that had a Pizza Express on site. The sixty six year old rocker still has it, even if he did have to ruin the look with a cashmere scarf after the sun went down. Mr Steerpike was not alone in wondering why the set had an edgier feel to it than the greying Roxy Music fans might have been used to. All was revealed toward the end when Ferry announced the extra guitarist with the badly dyed black hair, and the worst outfit on the stage, was none other than Smiths strummer Johnny Marr. I hear that Marr has collaborated on Ferry’s new album, due out next year.
A touch of glamour at the High Court this morning as N-Dubz singer turned X-Factor judge Tulisa won an apology from her ex-boyfriend for leaking a rather intimate tape of the pair. Revealing a newly dyed blonde mop for her day, presumably in homage to Legally Blonde, she told the waiting pack that her leaky ex had messed with the wrong girl. ‘I'm just really happy that the truth is out. It's a fresh start for me today after this, and it's my birthday, and now, of course, I'm off to Ibiza.’ Of course. A happy ending you might say.
Mr Steerpike does like to hear news of the great Lady. And it seems that she has still got it. Word reaches me that when told of the Deputy Prime Minister's plan to abolish the House of Lords she simply replied: 'Why?' 'Because he's a Liberal, Baroness Thatcher.' 'Ah, Liberals. We should abolish of few of them. No one shall abolish me.' Her loyal troops were plainly listening. *** After looking like someone has just drowned his puppy, in the wake of Lords reform mess, Nick Clegg could not have chosen a worse week to hold his summer drinks. Mr Steerpike hears that it was a rather subdued affair. Only one Tory managed to make it - Mark Harper, who has been working on the Lords bill with the Deputy Prime Minister.
Where better for rebellious Tory MPs to hide from the domineering whips than behind a giant ice sculpture of a fighter jet? Defence spending is on ice in Whitehall, and Saab Technologies took this literally at their 75th birthday bash at County Hall last night. With Saab looking to open new factories in Britain, plenty of MPs dropped by in search of some constituency investment. Lobbyists Bell Pottinger, who have had what might be described as a choppy year, are back with a bang having organised the event. But were uplighters and ice bars (straight out of a Bond film) the best way to make a room full of arms manufacturers seem less sinister? Mr Steerpike certainly thought so.
House of Lords reform? Most politicos are debating whether to elect senators or maintain the status-quo. Not so the Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives, who held an evening discussion about whether the Lords should return to the hereditary principle. Mr Steerpike hears that it was a popular motion. Leading the charge was James Bethell, head of Westbourne Communications by day and 5th Baron Bethell by night. Lord Bethell stated that his great-grandfather bought his peerage for £10,000 in 1922. He said that the sum works out at over three million pounds in today’s money, which appears to be much more than the asking price for an elected seat.
It’s Euro-mania in SW1. Always reliable for hard hitting analysis, Tory foghorn Louise Mensch summed up what she saw as her party’s position on the EU: ‘We want a Diet Coke version. A skinny latte. An EasyJet ticket. An IKEA flat-pack. Pain, vin, Boursin. You know. Just the basics.’ And who said a referendum would dumb down a complicated issue? Those paid to walk the line are less happy though. One Tory spinner whispers to me: This ding-dong is almost as interesting as the tennis. Less civilised though...
‘The Stone Roses are more important than Picasso’ claims the over-hyped and over-paid fishmonger Damien Hirst. The Manchester indie legends, led by Ian Brown, have reformed and are set to play three packed homecoming gigs this weekend. People will probably still be talking about this in twenty five years, just as they will be about Pablo in quadruple that. Can the same be said of the UK's richest artist? Mr Steerpike thinks not.
Forget the hacks and starlets, the politicians and media moguls, the defining image of the Leveson Inquiry will always be phone-hacking lawyer Mark Lewis’ terrible orange overcoat. The Zara number got inquiry wags and watchers talking and now I hear the coat is about to take a starring role of its very own. Lewis, who suffers from MS, tells me that he will be auctioning the coat for a charity associated with the disease. Form an orderly queue.
On the eve of the smoking ban five years ago, hundreds of liberty lovers came together to rebel and enjoy one last night of freedom. A reunion was held on the eve of the anniversary this week of the ban by smokers lobby group Forest. In the Scottish jazz heaven of Boisdale Canary Wharf, the biggest table thumping cheer of the night came from a reference to 'David Cameron's neo-facist nanny state.' But this was far from a right wing knees up. While the claret and Chivas Regal kept the crowd lubricated, all strands of political thought came together with righty James Delingpole and lefty Claire Fox treating the crowds to a rally against the state interference.
