The dastadly My Deedes

Ubiquitous advertising mogul sir martin sorrell was nowhere to be seen as the ink dried yesterday on his new company s4 Capital’s £266m acquisition of Dutch digital company mediamonks, a deal likely to provoke fireworks with former employers WPP. Where was he? trumpeting his new company’s merits around idaho’s sun Valley Conference, the exclusive annual tech gathering dubbed ‘ summer camp for billionaires’. What the old rascal lacks in height, he more than makes up for in chutzpah. Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman declined to wear to the company’s AGM yesterday one of the store’s rakish waistcoats England manager Gareth Southgate has been sporting along the touchline in Russia. ‘They are selling very well and we thought we should save them for customers,’ mumbled little Archie, 64, demonstrating the sort of deft chicanery which doubtless served him well as a spokesman on the Conservative front bench. Dominic Raab’s promotion to Brexit secretary means three City lawyers are now perched around the cabinet table. Raab, 44, was a solicitor at linklaters, Justice secretary David Gauke was at macfarlanes while local government minister James Brokenshire was previously a partner at Jones Day. And to think people used to moan the Cabinet was stuffed with Old Etonians. Affable City headhunter Robert Walters announces quarterly profits of £100m, up 18pc from last year. The hefty increase may explain why he felt confident enough to discuss the results with journalists while holidaying in rich-man’s playground St Tropez. ‘I’m relaxing watching people on their yachts with an awful lot more money than I do,’ sighs Walters, whose stake in his firm is worth a measly £17m. Following my story about Farnborough Air show cancelling their preevent drinks due to England’s World Cup game against Croatia this evening, the big match has claimed another scalp: Online retailer Amazon has cancelled tonight’s summer party after organisers accepted guests might be a little thin on the ground.