Boris Johnson setting an example
(Picture: Jeremy Selwyn)Sartorial standards are slipping in Whitehall. Since the pandemic, when working from home took off, there have been growing complaints about slovenly dressed civil servants in and out of the office.
There are attempts to restore order. We hear that, since Jeremy Hunt became Chancellor, trainers have been forbidden in the Treasury. At DCMS, a tipping point was reached this month when one civil servant turned up in a branded Huel T-shirt. Huel is a meal replacement gruel for trendy people.
“The likes of a suit and tie, unless you work in a minister’s office, are almost unheard of now, and people definitely dress more informally since Covid,” a civil servant tells us. The Londoner understands that while no formal dress codes are enforced across government, most departments expect smart dress, especially in the presence of ministers.
The Johnsons aren’t keeping up
Millions tuned into ITV on Sunday to watch Prince Harry’s interview with Tom Bradby. But it seems the Johnson household was not among them.
The shock interview clashed with police drama Happy Valley on BBC1 and fan of the show Carrie Johnson was apparently watching along live, as she liked tweets reacting to the drama. A quiet life after No 10 has some perks.
Dame Helen’s happy reunion
Dame Helen Mirren says she was glad to “reunite” with Harrison Ford, one of the richest actors in the world, in new western series 1923. They last acted together in Eighties flick The Mosquito Coast. Dame Helen, ever modest, says that in the intervening decades “I have clawed my way up closer to his stratospheric strata”. She reckons their previous work “informs our relationship now in a very good way. It made us close to each other and I think that shows”.
Activists disrupt Shell conference
A shell conference in the City was impeded yesterday by activists from Fossil Free London. Minutes into Shell country chair David Bunch’s speech, a bothered murmur spread through the venue: “Oh God, there’s activists in the room.” Protesters began to call out about climate change. “I’m not an activist. I’m just a mum and I’m worried about my children,” said one. They were escorted from the building.
Red carpet for Margot and Brad
Hollywood’s finest, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, celebrated the premiere of Babylon on the BFI IMAX red carpet in Waterloo last night. Across town, prima ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell enjoyed the English National Ballet’s performance of Swan Lake. Actor Mark Rylance and his wife, the composer and playwright Claire Van Kampen, were among the guests. Comics Jessica Hynes and David Baddiel were snapped at the pre-show drinks at the nearby St Martin’s Lane Hotel.
