A few years ago, I was at a fashion retailer’s collection launch in London. The crowd was packed, full of media types. In the corner, a DJ pumped out the music. The canapes were going round.
Suddenly, the throng had to part. This short figure, with what appeared to be minders either side of him, had come into the room. He was wearing a chalk pinstripe suit with slicked hair. He looked important — or rather he wanted us to think he was important. It was Howard Barclay, joint owner of the Telegraph newspaper group.
