WE HAD TO GIVE BRA AND HIP SIZES
Hostess girl tells of the demands made by party boss
THE property tycoon behind the scandal-hit men-only charity dinner demanded ‘tall, thin beauties’ with ‘smoky, sexy eyes and bright red lips’ to work as hostesses, a former worker claimed last night.
Tory donor Bruce Ritchie, co-trustee of the now-defunct Presidents Club, was said to have vetoed women larger than size ten for the Dorchester fundraiser.
Potential hostesses had to provide bust, waist and hip measurements as well as fulllength photos. The revelation came as:
MPs urged police to investigate ‘potentially criminal’ behaviour, including pimping and sexual assault of the 140 women working at last Thursday’s event;
Theresa May said she was ‘frankly appalled’ by the allegations of groping, saying: ‘Women are not just objects to be used by men;’
The PM called for a review of gagging orders hostesses had signed that prevent them from openly speaking of alleged abuse;
Downing Street urged anyone who had been sexually harassed to report the crime to the police;
One hostess said Mr Ritchie had put his hands around her waist, calling him ‘sleazy’ and ‘handsy’;
Guests insisted it was no ‘Roman orgy’ and the hostesses all ‘knew what they were doing’.
A woman who previously worked for Artista, the firm that provided the hostesses, laid bare the ‘horrific’ culture at the agency.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said Artista boss Caroline Dandridge ‘would always talk about Bruce Ritchie. He kept her in business.’ She said that Miss Dandridge, 55, would meet the millionaire ahead of the dinners so he could ‘remind her’ what he wanted from the hostesses, and twice the number of women required were put forward as Mr Ritchie was so selective.
The woman said: ‘[Miss Dandridge] would go and look for more girls and present him with the pictures. He would say, “Yes,” “No”... All the girls are young, lovely hair, skin.’
Mr Ritchie, 52, who owns Mayfair-based property firm Residential Land, had strict size and height requirements, the source said, adding: ‘It had to be a six, eight or ten. Smoky, sexy eyes and bright red lips. [Miss Dandridge] would say, “That’s what he wants.”’
Those selected were expected to wear bright red lipstick and ‘heavy eye make-up’, she said. ‘She was so rude to the girls, she would say things like, “She looks like a horse.” These girls had to be stunners.’
In emails, Miss Dandrige said Mr Ritchie preferred women to be: ‘Ideally 5ft 6in and over (he would prefer 5ft 8in and over!). He loves tall and thin as you know.’ Another email told of how Mr Ritchie turned down some of the women Miss Dandridge put forward.
Artista has provided models and hostesses for events such as the Ascot races and firms including Bentley, Barclays and The Economist magazine.
Before the Presidents Club events, Miss Dandridge allegedly admitted to staff: ‘Some of the girls will be my girls and some will be prostitutes.’
The ex-employee said that, at a Presidents Club dinner several years ago, a hostess aged 18 began sobbing after a guest touched her inappropriately, only to be allegedly told by Miss Dandridge to ‘go home or stay and enjoy yourself’.
A 28-year-old who worked at this year’s event said she had been propositioned, asked if she was a prostitute and had her bottom pinched. She said: ‘I thought this is so wrong, it’s seedy.’ Asked who stood out, she said: ‘Bruce Ritchie. He had girls sitting on his lap. He’s one of the founders and I just didn’t like the way that he was. He grabbed me at one point. He grabbed and pushed me a bit in a weird way.
‘He had his hands [around my waist] a bit too long and then pushed me to get me out of the way. He was very handsy, very sleazy...’
The hostess, from London, said the way he had touched her was ‘quite sexual’, and she claimed to have seen prostitutes, all wearing red dresses, at the after party.
The woman said she was told at interview by Miss Dandridge that pictures of her ‘would go to the main guy’. Scotland Yard said it was yet to receive any criminal allegations, but Lib Dem leader Sir Vince and his deputy Miss Swinson asked the force to investigate, while Labour MP Mrs Phillips also said she was contacting police.
Last night Jeremy Corbyn fired Labour peer Lord Mendelsohn as international trade spokesman in the Lords for attending.
Children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi was given a ‘dressing down’ by Chief Whip Julian Smith yesterday for going to the dinner. Mrs May told BBC News: ‘I thought that that sort of approach to women, that objectification of women, was something that we were leaving behind.’
A businessman who went denied it had been a ‘Roman orgy’ and insisted there was nothing ‘sinister’, though some guests may have ‘behaved in a handsy way’.
A real estate industry figure who attended told the Financial Times: ‘These are not underage girls, they are all over 18, they know what they are doing. The people who go, we can afford a girl if we want one.’
Ascot said it did not use Artista directly, but the firm had occasionally been used by third-party bookers. Bentley said it last worked with Artista in 2011, while it is understood The Economist has not since 2008. Barclays declined to comment. Mr Ritchie was approached for comment. Mrs Dandridge did not comment.
‘He was very handsy’