The dastardly Mr Deedes
Treasury Select Committee chairman Nicky Morgan yesterday launched an inquiry into household finances, the ninth hearing she has announced since succeeding Andrew Tyrie in September. Admired by fellow committee members, busy bee Ms Morgan, 45, a former City lawyer, has been steadily rebuilding her profile since Theresa May sacked her from the Cabinet last year. Friends say she’d fancy a tilt at PM when her embattled nemesis decides enough is enough.
Ball-busting EU competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, 49, who last year ordered Apple to pay £11bn to Ireland in back taxes, addressed the Lisbon Web Summit yesterday wearing tennis shoes. This was a precautionary measure, I am advised, to prevent herself falling on the skiddy stage. Perhaps the EU’s unsteady-after- lunch president Jean- Claude Juncker, 62, whose job Margrethe quietly covets, should invest in a pair.
Paunchy Aston Martin chief executive Dr Andy Palmer will compete in this weekend’s 24 hours at Circuit of The Americas, an all-day race in Texas similar to Le Mans. he’ll share driving duties with permatanned Bake off star Paul hollywood, 51, who proudly keeps two Astons in his drive- way. The company’s marketing team prefer to exploit its association with super sleek spy, James Bond.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed, the investor who’s been arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive, owns a stable of private jets, including a Boeing 747. He sold one of Airbus’s giant A380s after he briefly considered making it his flagship aircraft. Proposed modifications to the enormous 6,000 square foot interior included a Turkish bath, a full-size boardroom and a mini concert hall.
Adult retailer Lovehoney reports a 76pc boost in profits to £9m. The firm, which specialises in latex fetish outfits and other assorted sex apparati, attributes its recent success to its owners richard Longhurst and Neal Slateford being awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Wouldn’t you love to have been present when HM and Philip were introduced to the saucy pair at a Buckingham Palace reception last summer?