The dastardly Mr Deedes

Recent visitors to the Bank of England have noticed the natty men in pink tailcoats who’ve traditionally welcomed guests for the past 323 years have been replaced with burly security men wearing high-vis jackets. A source at the Bank assures me the doormen are still around, but ‘in light of recent events’, increased security means they now congregate around the entrance less often. A sad state of affairs and an even sadder reflection of our times. The High Court case brought by Lloyds’ shareholders over the bank’s disastrous 2008 purchase of HBOS for £12bn will be presided over next month by Mr Justice Norris, something of a lastminute stand-in. The case was due to be heard by Mr Justice Nugee, husband to shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry. Nugee, 58, stood down after breaking his leg, which I’m told occurred while cycling during a holiday in Italy. Goldman Sachs bankers are said to be shocked by their former colleague, Alice Weidel, whose far-Right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party won 13pc of votes in Germany’s elections. They say the icy blonde, 38, gave no indication of her extreme politics during her two-year stint at the bank. Her party’s rise will be giving Goldman bosses pause for thought about moving London jobs to Frankfurt. Conspicuously absent from advertisers M&C Saatchi’s interim results yesterday were any payments from the Conservatives. M&C worked on the party’s successful 2015 general election campaign – remember the ad showing Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket? – but were told their services were not required for this year’s vote. Relations with Tory strategy guru Sir Lynton Crosby are said to be less than fragrant. Apropos Uber being stripped of its licence by TfL, whatever happened to Maxxi, the ride-sharing service backed by hedge funder Nat Rothschild? Light investigation reveals it ceased trading in 2015 after barely ten months. Oh dear. So much for naughty Nat’s lofty pledge that the app would ‘change the way Londoners move around’.