Many politicos are enjoying the fact it’s the BBC rather than Westminster that is caught up in a sex scandal this week. But SW1A has its fair share of intrigue, too.
The Londoner hears that after a night at the Red Lion pub on Whitehall last month, two parliamentary aides used their Houses of Parliament passes to return to a Tory MP’s office to conduct their liaison instead of going home. They weren’t caught and left in the early hours.
We asked the media office at the House of Commons for a comment on whether they were breaking any rules, but they referred us to their behaviour code, which says “sexual misconduct is not tolerated” and refers to Parliament’s “ethical standards”.
Sex in the Palace of Westminster is not new. A new book by ex-No 10 aide Cleo Watson, Whips!, opens with a sex scene in an MP’s office. Watson tells us she thinks there may be lots of sex in Parliament that isn’t known about. “Regrettably I can’t speak from personal experience, but as I found when writing the book, you literally can’t make this stuff up,” she said.
Lady Amelia shines at the Serpentine
The fashion crowd were were out in force at a British Fashion Council party at the Serpentine last night. Well-dressed guests included Lady Amelia Windsor, presenters Zeze Millz and Rochelle Humes, and influencers Bimini Bon Boulash and Pegah Pourmand. Also there were fashion bigwigs including Burberry CEO Jonathan Akeroyd. Those present gossiped about the troubles at the BBC and their summer plans while sampling salmon blinis and prosecco. BFC boss Caroline Rush gave a short speech and introduced singer Yazmin Lacey.
Cowell begs for mouthwash
Music mogul Simon Cowell is fuming that he can’t maintain his pearly whites with his favourite mouthwash, Listerine Original, after the company discontinued the line. “Could you please, please bring it back? I’m begging you,” he wailed online. We’ve noticed that a 500ml bottle is £95 on eBay: surely that’s a drop in the ocean for the multi-millionaire. Watch out for his breath in the coming weeks.
Curtis: MPs are stuck in the past
Filmmaker Richard Curtis worries politicians are “haunted” by issues of the “last generation” and aren’t dealing with today’s problems such as climate change. “If you ask most people, ‘What are the best films you’ve ever seen?’, most name five they saw in their twenties,” Curtis said as he joined former Bank of England boss Mark Carney on stage at the Southbank Centre’s Planet Summer series last night.
Dancing at the tennis
Cara Delevingne shrugged off a bad experience at the Formula 1 by doing a little dance at Wimbledon with her friend Sienna Miller yesterday. The pair, who were also with Cara’s girlfriend Minke, had a jig as they watched defending champion Novak Djokovic win on Centre Court. They were back later at the Ralph Lauren suite. Also watching the action from the Royal Box was actor David Harewood and his wife Kirsty Handy.
