The dastardly Mr Deedes
As George Osborne’s old Bullingdon Club chum Luke Bridgeman has his day in the High Court, it’s revealed that old Bridgey once worked at financiers Dawnay Day. That firm collapsed in 2008 – a scandal that ended in the courts, too, when founder Guy Naggar, 73, fought off a £2m claim from his pal, the stockbroker and Labour Party donor Barry Townsley, 70. Not that it would have worried art buff Naggar. He and his wife Marion pocketed a cool £16.5m when they sold Lucian Freud’s painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping. Bridgeman’s new boss at City financiers Hosking Partners knows a bit about legal tussles. Jeremy Hosking, 58, founded the firm after quitting Marathon Asset Management, who then sued for £10m. Boisterous Hosking’s other big investment, in Crystal Palace football club, is looking ropey. They’re currently 17th in the Premier League. Still, if it all goes wrong perhaps he can cash in his collection of eight steam and diesel locomotives. He even recently named one ‘Brexit Express’. Has the mega-minted founder of home repairs business HomeServe indulged in a spot of early Christmas shopping? Heli- copter-mad Richard Harpin, 52, may have lost something of the surprise factor. The dad of three has had to issue a stock market announcement containing details of stock purchased for his children, Jemima, Thomas, and William. The festive share certificates are only worth £500 each – about the cost of one of his insurance cover policies. Ex-Bank of England official David Blanchflower, 64, has picked up bad habits from The Donald during his spells stateside. Both men spew their every thought on to social media platform Twitter. Over the weekend, ‘Danny’ lost a fight with irascible broadcaster, and Spectator head honcho, Andrew Neil after wrongly claiming Britain slumped into recession in August. That doesn’t deter our Danny-boy though. He was back on his war horse yesterday goading Iain Duncan-Smith, and Michael Gove after fellow gloom-merchants the OECD predicted the UK economy was to slow for two more years. Have you any gossip for our City diary? Email: mrdeedes@dailymail.co.uk