Ephraim Hardcastle

THERESA May’s deputy Damian Green, 61, now denying claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour, suffered for his romantic advances at Oxford University. A group of male rivals took exception to young Damian dining with a female undergraduate at a rival college. He was seized and thrown off a 12ft bridge into the River Cherwell. While narrowly avoiding being impaled on rusty spikes, Green suffered a broken wrist. Reminded of his misfortune, he snapped: ‘It wasn’t a mysterious incident. It was a bunch of drunks.’ BEFORE Prince Charles’s current 11-day Asian jaunt was confirmed there were hopes that he would make an historic first official tour of Israel to mark today’s centenary of the Balfour Declaration pledging British support for a Jewish state in Palestine. But the trip was scuppered for fear of upsetting allies such as Saudi Arabia. There was a back-up scheme to get Prince William to go instead of Charles, to act as a bridge builder and pave the way for a later Charles trip. It came to nought. Still it allows William to let his hair down tonight at the £800-a-head ball for his favourite charity, the Tusk Trust, at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London. SPEAKER John Bercow, 54, currently striving for lay saint status in his handling of the Sexminster scandal, will not relish being reminded of the 2011 boast by his wife Sally, pictured: ‘Since John became Speaker, the number of women who hit on him has gone up dramatically.’ HOUSE of Cards creator and Tory peer Michael Dobbs is distraught at Netflix pulling the plug on the US version of the show in the wake of the Kevin Spacey sex scandal. Dobbs, 68, a close friend of Spacey, says: ‘I am devastated almost beyond words. I created a House of Cards 30 years ago and up to this point it has been an exhilarating and totally joyous journey... right now I’m heartbroken.’ WELL-preserved showbiz star Dame Joan Collins, 84 – married five times – recalls the moment she suspected second husband Anthony Newley was cheating on her saying: ‘I threw him a 35th birthday party and I remember Barbra Streisand sang the song “People” at his feet. Something went through my head and I asked my friend, “Do you think something’s going on between those two?” I didn’t know it at the time, but many years later Barbra admitted to having an affair with him.’ THE sale of Sir Paul McCartney’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 at Bonhams next month (estimated price £1.5million) brings back memories for thespian Sir Patrick Stewart. He was appearing on stage with Macca’s girlfriend Jane Asher that year and recalls: ‘Paul walked into my dressing room, tossed me the keys and said, “Drive us to Bath.” I’d never driven a car that fast. He sat in the back making out with Jane as a I drove.’