Newly-wed Neil has a love rival

JUST a week after marrying glamorous Swede Susan Nilsson, broadcaster Andrew Neil already has a rival in bed: the couple’s white retriever Molly, pictured left with her owners, who often appears on his This Week show on BBC1. ‘When I come home late and Susan’s already in bed, Molly’s there and won’t get out,’ says Neil. ‘It’s like Diana’s marriage – there are three people in this relationship!’

A NEW novel, The Speaker’s Wife, by Dog’s esteemed Mail colleague Quentin Letts and to be published shortly by Little, Brown, has set off a guessing game among MPs. The main character is a ‘smarmy, obnoxious, insincere, sex-starved little creep who is rude to staff, loves sardines and has a glamorous girlfriend with her own political agenda’. Who could it possibly be? Answers to Dog on a postcard please. A tin of sardines for the best entry.

DOG has personal experience of Sir Edward Heath and ‘boys’ at his Salisbury mansion, Arundells. Years ago, at a soiree for political journos there, Dog was relegated to the far end of the table alongside Cockney financial hack Liam Halligan. When ‘Hooligan’ tried to liven things up, one of Heath’s pompous old cronies intervened: ‘Pipe down, boy! Don’t speak to Sir Edward like that!’

VINCE CABLE has risked upsetting the Queen by boasting about getting a knighthood before she has even confirmed it in writing. ‘It is agreed but hasn’t been officially notified... the Queen needs to send me a letter,’ said the ex-Lib Dem MP, tossing strict Royal protocol to one side. The former Cabinet Minister added: ‘I did have the option to go to the Lords but didn’t want to – it is overcrowded.’ Clearly ‘Sir’ Vince is already grand enough.