Coe's Royal faux pas
Lord Coe, who sings her praises for her work with the International Olympic Committee and Team GB, once had the bright idea of inviting her to an away-day he had arranged as a 'breather' for those working on the London 2012 bid – and committed an inadvertent faux pas with the princess.
She dutifully came along to his away day in Weymouth, but told him afterwards: 'If you ever book another meeting on the day of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, we're going to fall out.'
'Noted', Lord Coe told her. He now concedes: 'It wasn't my finest career moment'.
Williamson pet project
Sir Gavin Williamson's departure from frontbench politics has left him more time to pursue personal campaigns, including his advocacy for the people of Somaliland. He loves the territory and believes it should be an independent state. I hear the warm feelings are mutual, and one fan there has named their camel after him. Sir Gavin is flattered, but surprised. 'It's the first I've heard of it,' he said.
Poodling Farage
Some of Britain's opposition leaders are taking their minds off Westminster this summer with a rather obscure selection of historical reading material. Nigel Farage has bought a copy of Roy Jenkins's Mr Balfour's Poodle, which recounts the battle between Liberal politicians and the House of Lords between 1909 and 1911, while Ed Davey is reading a history of 1960s raves in his constituency of Richmond-upon-Thames. Only Kemi Badenoch has gone more mainstream, with the bestselling novel My Brilliant Friend, which is now an HBO TV series. Lighten up, boys!
Colesian puddles
Touring up and down the land, celebrity vicar and bestselling author the Rev Richard Coles reveals past sins can catch up with him on the road.
'It was in Bury St Edmunds, when someone asked me why I had pushed her over in a puddle at preschool in Kettering in 1967,' he says. 'I had completely forgotten about it until that moment.' He clarifies, almost 60 years on: 'There was no particular reason – I just saw an opportunity and took it.'
Dinsmore's dosh
Eyebrows have been raised in Whitehall over the exorbitant cost of hiring the former Sun editor David Dinsmore to be the Government's new communications chief. Contracts published by the Cabinet Office show bringing him in for an interview with Sir Keir Starmer cost the taxpayer £46,000 in fees to recruiters. Dinsmore is one of Britain's best-known newspaper executives. Didn't anyone have his mobile number?
Lucy dresses the part
Sir Keir Starmer is in hot water over freebies again after his wife Victoria accepted tickets to Ascot, but others have not been so lucky. Lucy Powell, the Leader of the Commons, paid a painful £350 for her ticket to the Oasis reunion tour last week, plus an extra £35 on a trademark Liam Gallagher bucket hat to wear. 'The Gallaghers went to the Catholic high school next to mine and Liam was a contemporary,' the Mancunian MP says. 'The merch is essential!'
Vintage Gilmour
David Gilmour remembers little of one of his first shows with Pink Floyd, at the Winter Gardens Pavilion in Weston-super-Mare in 1968. Perhaps that is due to a pre-gig tipple. 'My main memory is not music-related,' he told Record Collector magazine. 'We set up and went out to a French restaurant. The bottle of wine that they brought us was so delicious that it fixed my red wine tastes forever more. It was a 1964 red Burgundy, Côte de Beaune.'
Leicestershire Bigfoot
There was some tittering in Labour HQ this week when Reform UK unveiled Rupert Matthews, the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, as their latest defection from the Tories. Matthews is a well-respected politician, but moonlights as an author of 'non-fiction' books about Bigfoot sightings.
'The evidence for its existence falls short of proof, but the balance of probabilities would suggest that there is such a creature,' he wrote in 2014. Maybe keep that to yourself on the doorstep, Rupert.
Peterborough, published every Friday at 7pm, is usually edited by Christopher Hope. This week Tony Diver stands in for him. You can reach Mr Hope at peterborough@telegraph.co.uk
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
20 minutes ago
- ITV News
Nicola Sturgeon: My arrest was 'horrific' and part of me 'closed down'
Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the day she was arrested as 'horrific' and 'the worst day of her life.' In an exclusive interview with ITV News, ahead of the release of her memoir, Frankly, Sturgeon talks about the day of her arrest, telling Julie Etchingham, "I think a part of me just closed down." She also described the "horror, upset and shame" of her husband's arrest in April 2023. In a wide-ranging and frank discussion, the former first minister also expressed regret in her handling of transgender legislation during her time in office, admitting she should have 'paused' the legislation when the debate became polarised. She writes in her book, 'I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary,' adding that she was 'enjoying being her own person for a while'. Over the past few years, the Scottish National Party has been embroiled in a financial scandal. This resulted in a police investigation examining criminal wrongdoing around the SNP's finances, named Operation Branchform. On April 5 2023, Peter Murrell, Sturgeon's then husband and SNP chief executive, was arrested by Police Scotland at the couple's Glasgow home in connection with Operation Branchform. Nicola Sturgeon was herself arrested on June 11 in connection with the same investigation. She would later be cleared of all charges, but her husband, from whom she's now separated, would go on to be charged with embezzlement, events she described as "horrific". The former first minister told ITV News' Julie Etchingham that she had 'blocked out' the details of her husband's arrest at their family home. Sturgeon said she still found it difficult to articulate how she felt seeing her husband arrested. 'It wasn't until I got to mum and dad's that I saw the pictures of my house looking like a murder scene, effectively,' she said. 'I had this sense of horror, upset, and the kind of shame of it all.' 'I think part of me just closed down,' she said. Her time in office was not without its share of difficulties, either. Towards the end of Sturgeon's tenure, she introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for transgender people to self-identify their gender, without a medical diagnosis. But the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill went on to spark a 'divisive" and at times 'toxic' debate over gender identity, eventually leading to April's Supreme Court ruling against the Scottish government on the issue. ITV News asked the former FM how she felt about the fact that the fallout of the debate around her reforms may have made things worse for the lives of transgender people across the UK. 'When this was first mooted, it was not the divisive, toxic, controversial issue it became,' explained Sturgeon. Reflecting on the shape the debate took, however, she signalled some regret, admitting she should have 'taken a step back' and 'paused' the legislation. She nevertheless added: 'I fervently believe that the rights of women and the interests of trans people are not irreconcilable at all. I should have taken a step back and said, 'How do we achieve this?'" In a personal revelation, Sturgeon writes in her book:' I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary.' Expanding, she described it to ITV News as 'just [her] view of the world, and life, and the way people are.' She went on to clarify, 'If you're about to ask me, 'Am I making some big revelation?' No. 'Am I putting labels on myself?' No, I'm just… that's how I see the world.' Whilst the former first minister didn't rule out the possibility of a relationship with a woman, she added: 'Look, I'm just out of a marriage, so I'm not rushing into a relationship with anyone anytime soon. 'I'm enjoying being my own person for a while.'
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hundreds march to Downing Street urging release of Israeli hostages
Hundreds of people including family members of Israeli hostages taken on October 7 have marched to Downing Street urging the release of those being held by Hamas. There were several flare-ups from counter protesters including one arrest as the 'national march for the hostages', organised by Stop the Hate UK and a number of Jewish organisations, made its way through central London on Sunday. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the conflict in Gaza. Stop the Hate said that protesters will urge the Prime Minister to prioritise the release of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive, before any recognition of a Palestinian state. Among those due to attend and give a speech is Noga Guttman, the cousin of 24-year-old Evyatar David, who was kidnapped. Hamas released a video last weekend which showed Mr David looking skeletal and hollow-eyed in a dimly lit Gaza tunnel. Some protesters held Israeli flags and wore yellow ribbons as they congregated in Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn from 1.30pm. A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted 'Free Palestine' in front of the march close to Trafalgar Square. One man was seen being bundled to the ground after being surrounded by about a dozen people, while another man was seen being moved away by police officers after he began shouting. Earlier, on The Strand, a young man was kept away from the protesters after shouting 'Free Palestine'. Another man was carried away by officers after a scuffle broke out close to the gates of Downing Street. He was seen throwing water over a pro-Israel demonstrator before charging at him and putting his hand around the demonstrator's neck, before officers intervened. The Metropolitan Police said officers were deployed along the route 'to ensure the safety of those attending and to deal with any offences.' It comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy joined his counterparts from Australia, Italy, Germany and New Zealand to condemn Israeli plans to take over Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, on Friday, that Israel would seek 'the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip', as well as 'Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip' and 'the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority'. In their joint statement, the foreign ministers said the plans 'risk violating international law' and 'any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law'. Sir Keir described Israel's plans as 'wrong' and called for 'a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution'. He said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to meet certain conditions, including addressing the humanitarian crisis, implementing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. But he insisted the move was not a propaganda boost to Hamas, saying the 'terrorist organisation' could play 'no part in any future government'.
BreakingNews.ie
21 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Total number of Palestine Action support arrests in London rises to 522
The number of people arrested for supporting banned group Palestine Action at a protest in central London has risen to more than 520. Only 18 of those people remained in custody on Sunday afternoon but were expected to be released on bail 'in the coming hours', the Metropolitan Police said. Advertisement Hundreds attended the demonstration in Parliament Square on Saturday, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the force warning it would arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action. Hundreds attended the demonstration in Parliament Square on Saturday (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The Met confirmed on Sunday that 522 people were held for displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, out of 532 total arrests made during the policing operation. One arrest took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square, with the remaining 521 arrests at the protest in Parliament Square. Charity Amnesty International previously described the number of arrests under UK terrorism law as 'deeply concerning'. Advertisement There were a further 10 arrests – six for assaults on officers, two for breaching Public Order Act conditions and one arrest for obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty and a racially aggravated public order offence respectively, the force said. Detained protesters were taken to prisoner processing points in the Westminster area, and those whose details could be confirmed were bailed, with conditions not to attend any further protest in support of Palestine Action, Scotland Yard said on Saturday. Those whose details were refused, or could not be verified, were taken to custody suites across London. Some 522 people were held for displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Some 320 people were dealt with at prisoner processing points while 212 were transported to custody, with 18 people remaining in the latter as of 1pm on Sunday, the force said. Advertisement On Saturday the crowd sat silently on the grass inside Parliament Square after writing 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action' on white placards. Police took several hours to individually remove the protesters, some sitting and some lying flat on the grass, from the square into waiting vans. Onlookers applauded the protesters and shouted 'shame on you' at the police making arrests. Scotland Yard said it was aware of photos and footage posted online suggesting that some of those who were bailed had returned to Parliament Square. Advertisement Arrest update: We have finished compiling the full arrest figures for yesterday's operation. The details can be found at the link below. — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 10, 2025 'We are as confident as we can be that none of those who returned to Parliament Square rejoined the protesters who were holding placards,' the force said. The Met's Counter Terrorism Command will work to secure charges against those arrested 'over the coming days and weeks', the force added. Earlier this week, the first three people to be charged with supporting Palestine Action in England and Wales were named. Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53, have all been charged with displaying an article in a public place, arousing reasonable suspicion that they are a supporter of a proscribed organisation after their attendance at a previous demonstration on July 5. Advertisement A further 26 case files relating to arrests at that same protest are due to be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service imminently, the Met said. Hundreds of people have been arrested in a wave of Defend Our Juries protests across the UK since the ban against Palestine Action was implemented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last month. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the decision to ban Palestine Action was 'based on strong security advice' (Jacob King/PA) Membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said the Parliament Square demonstration would 'go down in our country's history as a momentous act of collective defiance of an unprecedented attack on our fundamental freedoms'. She also criticised the policing methods used on Saturday, claiming that the fact most of those arrested at the protest were 'given street bail and allowed to go home' proved the current ban was 'unenforceable'. In a statement, Ms Ammori said: 'This is humiliating for the Home Secretary, who will now have to justify this 'two-tier' policing of arresting some people as 'terrorists' for holding a sign, but not others who held the exact same sign. 'It's clear that more and more ordinary people appalled by this anti-democratic, authoritarian ban will defy it en masse and it is simply not possible to arrest them all.' Ms Cooper thanked police in London and across the country on Saturday for their work to ensure peaceful protests, and officers' 'continued dedication in responding to support for a proscribed organisation'. She said: 'The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation. 'Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.'
