A laywer who has been styling himself as a change candidate for Mayor has been left embarrassed after much of his team were seen in a video attending a party at the height of the pandemic.
And as well as many of his staff being seen at the bash, The Londoner understands Mozammel Hossain, who is down to the final three to run for Tory mayor, is also being backed by businessman Nick Candy. Candy was also at the aforementioned bash.
A video of a party at CCHQ in December 2020 for then Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey was released on Sunday. In it, Hossain’s campaign manager Ben Mallett, who was recently awarded an OBE in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, is seen laughing. Also there dancing in a red dress and knocking over a glass of wine was Malin Bogue, who handles Hossain’s media.
Candy left before the dancing, but is said to be part of “team Moz” and was seen at hustings last week trying to raise funds. Candy is one of London’s most prominent businessmen, building the One Hyde Park apartment block. where apartments sell for more than £100m.
Hossain’s campaign video says he is “not a politician”. He was born in Bangladesh in a wooden house with a mud floor, and moved here at the age of 21. Hossain was approached for comment.
Boris accused of making Eton mess
David Cameron often tried to distance himself from his posh Eton schooling. But Boris Johnson is happy with his, giving an interview to the Junior Chronicle, Eton’s school magazine (the journalist was Eton pupil Peter Rees-Mogg, son of Sir Jacob). Boris is in a battle with the school masters, some of whom consider him an embarrassment. John Claugton, his former Latin tutor, wrote a letter in last week’s Times lamenting the “sense of privilege” shown by former pupils of his like Johnson and Rees-Mogg and saying he had “failed” in his duties.
Meanwhile, the former MP faced a familiar dilemma as he returned to journalism last week: how much to ruffle his hair? Johnson is now being paid a high six-figure sum for a column by the Daily Mail. In his byline photoshoot on Friday morning, the stylists tried a range of options, from scruffy to flat, and eventually settled on a gently tousled effect. That suited the light subject matter, which was the merits of weight loss drug Ozempic.
Blair wars over university
Multimillionaire apprenticeships businessman Euan Blair has blasted his dad’s legacy of boosting university places. “The idea was correct... the fact is it has transparently not worked,” he tells The News Agents podcast. Blair Jr says his “degree in Ancient History and my Master’s in International Relations were in no way useful to me” when starting his career at Morgan Stanley, and says CEOs agree degrees aren’t always helpful. Tony said in 1999 that he wanted half of all Brits to go to university.
Holland’s review troubles
Never read the reviews, counsel some experienced thesps. But Spider-Man Tom Holland can’t seem to get enough of them. Scrolling through the verdicts on his new psychological thriller series The Crowded Room, Holland said, “was a kick in the teeth… Rolling over, looking up the reviews, and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Wow. That’s a bad review.’ Sometimes there’s a redeeming quality in there. There was nothing.”
There’s some respite for Holland, who has said he is halfway through a year’s break from acting now that the show has wrapped. “I’ve been home, I’ve been lying low, I’ve been working on my house and building cupboards and gardening and all that sort of stuff” he told Australian media recently. “I thought after two months I’d be itching to get back on set. I’m now six months in and I’m absolutely loving my time off, I’m really enjoying myself,” he added. Don’t let bad reviews stop you coming back soon, Tom.
Chukkas away at the polo
It’s polo season, and Spencer sisters Lady Eliza and Amelia headed to Surrey for the Cartier Queen’s Cup Polo in Egham yesterday. Also having fun were well turned-out actors Charithra Chandran, Micheal Ward and Harrison Osterfield. Back in London, Hugh Grant wore shades at a gala performance of Mrs Doubtfire: The Musical for Comic Relief at the Shaftesbury Theatre. With Hugh’s recent varied career turns, could he one day take a star turn in the title role?
