The manager of Simpson’s Tavern, the much-loved City restaurant said to have served Charles Dickens, says he has been locked out of discussions to reopen his doors after an “insulting” bid by a rival hopeful owner.
Last month, The Londoner reported that Simpson’s had closed following a dispute with the landlord over rent during the pandemic. After an outcry, a crowdfunder raised more than £113,000 to help settle the issue.
Following that row, manager Benjamin Duggan had been in negotiations with the landlord, hoping to reopen before Christmas. But after a third party offered to buy the site, he seems to be have been locked out of discussions.
Duggan says the new bid is a “patronising” and ‘cuckoo” attempt to claim the history of the tavern. A spokesperson for the buyer told us they would like to “reopen with no changes”. The landlord was approached for comment.
Strife at the top of the BBC
A row has broken out over BBC impartiality. BBC board member Robbie Gibb, right, who worked for Theresa May in No 10, told a recent Newsnight meeting their show is “dripping with revealed preferences”, criticising “the interview with the Albanian” in coverage of the refugee crisis, reports the New Statesman. He said biased journalists “can get stuffed and leave”. This summer, Emily Maitlis, once of Newsnight, called Gibb a “Tory agent”. A BBC source tells us that Gibb was invited to the “open discussion” and had shared praise for staff too.
Legal pioneer’s 50th year at the bar
Lawyer Dame Helena Kennedy had a party to celebrate 50 years at the bar at St Bart’s Hospital on Friday. Co-host Amal Clooney got Covid and couldn’t attend, but husband George supplied some tequila for lucky guests, including Keir Starmer, actor Jonathan Pryce and Sadiq Khan. Dame Helena recalled that when female lawyers applied for jobs before the Sex Discrimination Act came in, chambers would tell them: “We don’t accept women”. After the act, they’d say: “We already have one”. Things have changed a little for the better.
Pay rise for the mayor
While not everyone in the public sector is getting a pay rise, Mayor Sadiq Khan is getting a small one. A London Assembly document shows Khan is set for a 1.5 per cent increase next year, bringing his salary to just shy of £155,000. Assembly members will get a more generous rise of 3.2 per cent, pushing their salaries over £60,000.
A cuppa Rosie suits Kate fine
American actor Kate Hudson went British last night as she sipped a cup of tea at a London event for Glass Onion, the sequel to detective thriller Knives Out at The Ham Yard Hotel in Soho. She was joined by movement expert Andy Serkis and singer as well as actor Janelle Monáe, brandishing a sausage-dog shaped bag. The three star alongside Daniel Craig in the film. Over at the Corinthia Hotel, Tom Hanks plugged his new comedy film A Man Called Otto with his wife, Rita Wilson, and co-star Mariana Treviño.
