Latest news with #OldEtonian
Daily Mail
26-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
DANIEL HANNAN: Think things are bad now? This is what Angela Rayner would do on the day she got into No 10 (and the terrifyingly plausible way it could happen)
Angela Rayner narrows her eyes and grips the podium outside No 10. The moment calls for plain speaking – and plain speaking, she tells herself, is what she does best. 'All right, let's be honest. The markets are out to get us. The bankers, the investors, the money men. The pinstriped scum, absolute pile of asset-stripping Old Etonian piece of scum.'
Telegraph
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The mould was well and truly discarded for Sir Jamie McGrigor
It may be a well-worn cliche, but there's no doubt that it might have been coined especially for Sir Jamie McGrigor, who has just died, because the mould was well and truly discarded after they made this 6th Baronet. After a long illness, it wasn't all that much of a shock to learn that he'd died at the far too young an age of 75. But it was still terrible news to his loving and large family and the veritable army of friends he'd acquired over the course of an amazing life; after all, there were surely decades of Jamie's jokes and songs still to be heard. When discussing him, there was no need to mention a surname when in conversation about this proud Highlander, proud Old Etonian, proud Tory and his thousand other attributes. But as a politician who came to the great game pretty late in life, with the advent of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in 1999 and a seat representing the entire Highlands and Islands, Sir Jamie was unarguably one of the best-known of the 129 assorted MSPs, and was deadly serious in attending to his duties for that vast area. He would probably never have been elected in a first-past-the post system but the proportional representation method chosen for Holyrood was tailor-made for free spirits like this one. He championed his far-flung constituents for 17 years, fighting their corner on every issue, but above all over the almost annual farce of the A83 road, aka the 'Rest and be Thankful' – perhaps the principle route into the West Highlands – being closed by landslips caused by heavy rain, necessitating a mammoth six hour detour. Sad to say, when I last checked on that vital thoroughfare, the situation was no better. I'd never come across Jamie until he entered the Scottish Parliament in 1999, and knew nothing of his background, but he was soon to shine like a beacon in the dour and ever-so-earnest atmosphere of that apprentice assembly. Most of the Central Scotland local politicians who surrounded him didn't know what to make of this small in stature but larger than life personality, who was a toff but didn't act like one. While he took his work very seriously at a time when the Scottish Tories were seeking to make some sort of comeback after their wipeout at the 1997 general election, Sir Jamie became the life and soul of the party... every party. He was enormously proud of being the first backbencher from any of the Holyrood parties to get a members' bill onto the statute book. His Scottish Register of Tartans is the official government body whose primary function is to register new tartans and maintain a database of existing ones. He was especially proud of this achievement given that his clan, however they spelled their surname, were for a time denounced as outlaws in Scotland. Jamie revelled in that notoriety, and on his less serious side, assuming anyone ever discovered it, he was simply immense. He was the star turn at my wedding reception, even if I don't remember inviting him although my wife insists she did. He and his lady accompanist on her harmonica were last to leave, but not before he'd sung his way through a lengthy repertoire of songs, one in particular sung in a form of pidgin Gaelic which was supposed to disguise its incredibly dubious message. It didn't. An inveterate smoker, Jamie developed a pretty aggressive form of emphysema which in later life necessitated his always having a canister of oxygen with him. It took it everywhere and for a time called it 'Rover', as once in my local pub in Edinburgh it was placed under his seat like a dog while we had a dram or two. He was unhappy to have been 'eased out' of the Scottish Parliament seven years ago, but his health was getting no better and in any case he simply switched his allegiance and became a Conservative county councillor in Argyll, where he served until 2022. He'll be much missed by everyone who knew him. Footnote: As we're on holiday in France, I've just received a present from a friend, bought in a local Marche aux Puces (Flea Market); a polo shirt. Makers: McGregor of New York. Cost: Two Euros. Jamie would've liked that.
Scottish Sun
22-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Our billionaire neighbour's plan for Downton Abbey house with lagoon & 40 acres of solar panels will ‘RUIN village'
Locals slammed his schemes as "vandalism" on such a historic building 'SUPER SELFISH' Our billionaire neighbour's plan for Downton Abbey house with lagoon & 40 acres of solar panels will 'RUIN village' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BILLIONAIRE is at war with his neighbours after buying a sprawling country estate for a "Grand Designs" plan - with one resident describing it as "vandalism". Locals fear that Chris Rokos' schemes for the Grade I listed Tottenham House in Wiltshire will leave them with severely reduced water pressure. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 11 Chris Rokos is seeking planning permission to install 40 acres of solar panels at Tottenham House, which is on the sprawling 4,500-acre Savernake Estate Credit: Chris Eades 11 Land surrounding the historic estate in Wiltshire Credit: Chris Eades 11 Retired businessman, Tim Brigstow, slammed the plans as 'vandalism' Credit: Chris Eades The 54-year-old hedge fund owner bought the historic house - which featured on Downton Abbey - to turn it into a private residence. But locals living in nearby Great Bedwyn, on the edge of the 4,500-acre estate, claim he is turning it into his own "Grand Designs" project. Rokos plans to install 40 acres of solar panels and to build a water lagoon at North Park on the historic Savenake Estate, near Marlborough. The plans were submitted to Wiltshire County Council in October last year. The scheme is part of the wider restoration of Tottenham House, which was built in the 18th century and was home to the Earls of Ailesbury who lived there until 1946. It is hoped the development would provide around a third of the estate's electricity requirements while the lagoon would collect water in the winter months for use during the summer. The application claims this would 'ensure Tottenham House and Estate's long term and sustainable future' by providing a 'sustainable form of power and water.' In a strongly worded objection, Great Bedwyn Parish council said: "We object to the current proposal over concerns of the installation of the new water mains connection and creation of a drainage lagoon and soakaway. "We ask that Wiltshire Council seek reassurances from Thames Water that the installation of the new mains will not be to the detriment of residents within our parish with regards to the lowering of water pressure or indeed no suitable mains water supply." A spokesperson for Rokos said concerns about water pressure are "completely unfounded". Your kids are breaking law if they kick their ball over neighbour's fence, High Court rules after couple sued next door They also said the application is not for a solar farm, as the proposed panels would cover a small portion of land. But furious householders nearby have lashed out at the scheme. One local claims the Old Etonian is riding roughshod over the wishes of many people living nearby. Retired businessman, Tim Brigstow, 71, said: 'I concede that what he is doing with Tottenham House is worthwhile - after all it had been in terminal decline before he took it on. 'But his plans for the land at North Park is nothing short of vandalism. "Wanting to put up thousands of solar panels as well as creating a lagoon in such an important area as Savernake Estate is crass. 'It's as if he is starring in his own programme of Grand Designs and he has so much money he can make virtually anything happen. 'But there are issues surrounding both aspects of his planning application. "Firstly 40-acres of solar panels would look hideously out of place in the area which is world famous for the number of ancient trees. I'm locked in neighbour row over tiny 'dwarf wall' on our boundary – they want to knock it down but I'll NEVER let them By Emily Davies A BUSINESSMAN is locked in a row with the developers of a new housing estate over a tiny wall that is just two bricks high. Roger White is adamant that the "dwarf wall" on the boundary of the estate belongs to him and he refuses to let Lioncourt Homes knock it down. The 58-year-old says the mini wall in Hempsted, Gloucester, sits on land he inherited from his father in 1997, but the developer said the land it is working on is "wholly owned by Lioncourt Homes or is in adopted highway land". But the housing developer insists they need to knock down the two-brick high structure to create an emergency access route, required in their planning permission. IT worker Roger complained that they didn't approach him to buy the land before starting work. He claims the land was valued at £10,000 in 2017. In turn, Lioncourt Homes sent a cease-and-desist letter to the local businessman in the planning saga. They said he has "no entitlement to a ransom" over the tiny wall. Roger told GloucestershireLive he "keeps an eye" on the land and around a month ago he noticed the construction work going on, so looked up the planning permission online. He noticed it required an emergency access route because of potential flooding, and said it was "going to be across my land and obviously across my dwarf wall". He said: "I contacted Lioncourt Homes and said 'you don't realise I own this' and they came back and confirmed in writing that it was my dwarf wall. 'But they are saying that either the dwarf wall is adopted highway or it is their dwarf wall - which clearly isn't." The BBC reported that Lioncourt claims to have documents from 1964 proving its ownership of the wall. Roger says he has paperwork from 1971 which shows the wall belongs to him. The IT worker said he is not against the development of 70 homes being built. But he said the company needs to make sure "everything is done properly". He feels as if they want to "bulldoze" the wall and "get on with the work". "It certainly starts to feel like it is the big developer bullying a small businessman because they just seem to be adamant." A spokesperson at Lioncourt Homes said: "Works required to implement our planning permission is in land wholly owned by Lioncourt Homes or is in adopted highway land, no third-party land is required." A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: "We consider that the legal boundary of Lioncourt's land directly adjoins the public road of Honeythorn Close. Legal boundaries have no physical width (regardless of the physical boundary's appearance) and the highway status takes precedence over whoever owns the ground beneath it. "Therefore, the council considers that the works to create the emergency vehicle access as required by planning can be lawfully implemented." 'There are also concerns over the water pressure in the surrounding areas and where the water to fill the lagoon will come from.' Another local, who didn't want to be named, said: 'It is such a beautiful and historic landscape that putting up thousands of solar panels over a 40-acre site would just ruin it for all. 'We have people coming all over the world to walk through Savernake Forest and they don't want to be confronted by a wall of solar panels. 'There is a very picturesque school and a church next door to where they want to build the solar farm and the traffic going down a single track road during construction will be unbearable.' Solar panel 'intrusion' In an online objection, others argued solar panels at the historic site would be an 'intrusion.' Mark Colquhoun said: 'The development has revitalised a nationally significant heritage site with a high standard of design, landscape restoration, and attention to detail. 'However, the proposed installation of a ground-mounted PV array in North Park represents a substantial visual and historical intrusion. 'To place modern energy infrastructure here undermines the character and legibility of this protected setting.' However, the scheme has been backed by Historic England which emphasised the importance of preserving the estate. 11 Tottenham House doubled as the rundown Dryden Park on Downton Abbey Credit: ITV 11 The estate was owned by fictional character Sir Michael Reresby Credit: ITV 11 An aerial view of Tottenham House Credit: Alamy A spokesperson added: 'Overall Historic England acknowledges that the installation will cause some minor harm to the overall heritage significance of the Savernake Forest Registered Park and Garden through the introduction of modern infrastructure and the creation of a new water feature in the historic landscape. 'However, it will also provide benefits in delivering a renewable energy source on-site and reduce carbon emissions associated with the operation of the estate. 'Therefore, on balance, we do not object to this application, acknowledging that the level of harm against the benefits it will afford the redevelopment and future preservation of the Tottenham House Estate.' The current Tottenham House was used as a preparatory school and a centre for young adults. It was then sold to an American investment company who wanted to build a golf course and resort on the site. In 2014, the house was sold for £11.25m to an undisclosed buyer who had plans to turn it back into a private home, after which it was sold to billionaire Rokos, who had similar plans. In 2015, the house featured in the hit TV series, Downton Abbey where it was supposed to be Dryden Park, the rather run-down estate of Sir Michael Reresby. The Sun has reached out to Rockos' company for comment. 11 Plans for a solar farm and lagoon on the historic Wiltshire estate have sparked angry opposition from locals Credit: Chris Eades 11 Pictured is the historic house across its sprawling grounds Credit: Chris Eades 11 The lane leading to the 100-bed mansion Credit: Chris Eades 11 Pictured is the village church St Katherine's in Savernake Credit: Chris Eades
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Daily Mail
The soldier of fortune who Mugabe's thugs threatened to feed to the crocodiles: RICHARD KAY reflects on the extraordinary life of ex-SAS officer Simon Mann who led Wonga Coup after his death aged 72
It was hardly the ending one might have scripted for a man of action. No hail of gunfire or ambushed bomb blast, nor falling victim to an assassin's blade. But as prosaic as it may sound – meeting his end while working out in a gym – the death of Old Etonian SAS officer and former mercenary Simon Mann was surely linked to a life during which hair-trigger danger had lurked in every shadow. As news of his sudden demise, aged 72, swept through London 's military clubland yesterday, brother officers were wryly speculating that a man who had survived years of incarceration in not one but two hellish African jails – where other inmates died almost every day from torture, illness or starvation – should collapse while exercising. Last night Howard White, a long-time friend and business associate said: 'It's very, very sad and shocking. 'Simon was super fit. He used to go out in the mornings for a ten-mile run. But then look at the background of his life. I don't think five or six years in an African jail, with a hole in the ground for a toilet, did him much good. It would take a toll on anyone's health. 'He had been in the SAS – the creme de la creme. But he'd had two hip replacements, and half his body was full of metal. He said jumping out of planes with 40kgs [six stone] on his back had done for his hips and knees.' Indeed, some of his old comrades could not help wondering whether his death had something to do with his past catching up with him. How could it not? The man behind 2004's so-called Wonga Coup, with its cast of famous names that reached into the heart of the British Establishment, inevitably had enemies – many enemies. For those who liked their heroes larger than life, then twice-wed Mann fulfilled an awful lot of fantasies. Good-looking, witty and erudite while at the same time projecting an aura of menace, he was a man of secrets but also one of loyalty and courage. A soldier of fortune who made millions supplying mercenaries to protect diamond mines and oil refineries in the capitalist maelstrom of post-colonial Africa. But of all his many qualities honed on the playing fields of Eton and at Sandhurst, as well as the polish that came with membership of the elite Brigade of Guards, it was Mann's courage that was to be his most visible asset when he became involved in a plot to overthrow the tyrannical government of Equatorial Guinea. The plan was a botched disaster of epic proportions. A gun hadn't even been fired in anger when Mann and 67 fellow mercenaries, many old hands from southern Africa's apartheid era bush wars, were arrested by Zimbabwe security forces when their aircraft touched down at Harare airport to take on a consignment of arms. Mann claimed that they were on their way to protect diamond interests in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. But they were accused of being behind a coup to expel Equatorial Guinea's brutal president Teodoro Obiang Nguema. The story of the alleged coup contained more implausible characters and plot twists than any page-turning paperback thriller. There was the reputedly cannibalistic dictator who allegedly enjoyed feasting on the human remains of his foes and the lure of liquid gold – offshore oil reserves that promised to make millions for those who dared to seize them. Pictures of Mann, whose polo-playing son was best man at Prince Harry's wedding, shackled and handcuffed to his fellow mercenaries, shocked the world. But the story he scratched out on notes smuggled from his prison cell told an even more gripping yarn. It was of the people he claimed were the coup's paymasters and other figures who were said to have tacitly supported the enterprise. Along with shady tycoons, others said to be part of the murky affair included the disgraced peer Jeffrey Archer, politicians at the heart of the then New Labour government and Lady Thatcher's son, Mark, who was later arrested. In one of these notes penned during his detention, he appealed to Sir Mark to pay a 'splodge of wonga' – a large amount of money – to get him out of jail Last year, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Mann reiterated that Sir Mark was in the thick of the plot. He also claimed that over a Christmas morning breakfast with Lady Thatcher in 2003 beside the swimming pool at Mark's then home in Cape Town, the former prime minister had told him: 'I know what is going on – and you two guys have just got to get on with it.' Mann, who later removed this crucial exchange from his memoir of the failed coup at the insistence of Mrs Thatcher's lawyers, said he had no need to ask what she meant. He also maintained that this poolside message convinced him his mission had high-level approval. Sir Mark has always maintained that he was a minor investor and that he thought the money he provided was for a helicopter that would be used as an air ambulance. But after his subsequent arrest for funding an illegal coup, he agreed to a plea bargain involving admitting to lesser charges and paying a fine but escaping jail. Mann, however, a scion of the Watney Mann brewing family, spent more than five years behind bars where his resilience and his years of SAS training were to prove invaluable, not just in staying alive but also in keeping his sanity. The coup was financed by Lebanese fixer Ely Calil, nicknamed 'Smelly' by his ex-public-school co-conspirators, who later died falling down the stairs at his home in Holland Park, west London. President Obiang promised that he would eat Mann's testicles and drag his naked body through the streets should he ever get the chance. That chance came when, after four years in Harare's grim Chikurubi prison, he was extradited in secret to Equatorial Guinea, where he was incarcerated in the infamous Black Beach jail. Fears that Mann would rot away in the notorious hellhole were to prove unfounded. After only 15 months he was pardoned by the dictator he had tried to overthrow and returned to his family in England, where he was introduced to his infant son, Arthur, who had been born while he was in prison in Zimbabwe. Officially, the Equatorial Guinea regime freed Mann on compassionate grounds because of his need for medical treatment. Many observers felt the early release had been Mann's reward for his willingness to identify traitors inside the country who were in on the coup. Mann had no regrets and justified his decision because he had been abandoned himself. He also knew he would not survive even five years of the new 32-year sentence handed down to him. Simon Mann was born into a distinguished military family in 1952. His father won two Military Crosses in the Second World War and his grandfather was decorated in the Great War. Both men also captained the England cricket team, the first father-and-son pair to attain the honour. 'You have to realise that I attended lunches where everyone at the table had killed a German,' Mann once said. There was also an older cousin, Sir Lachlan Maclean, who was celebrated for his escapades in the Borneo jungle during the Malayan Emergency from 1948-1956. To augment this fascination for all things military there was the family nanny who urged him to read the derring-do stories of Biggles and Horatio Hornblower. Though his father wanted him to go into the family brewing business, he followed Sir Lachlan into the Scots Guards. When the regular Army failed to challenge him, Mann underwent the gruelling tests to join the SAS, succeeding at the first attempt and becoming a troop commander specialising in intelligence and counter-terrorism. Here he saw service in Cyprus, Germany, Norway, Canada, Central America and Northern Ireland. After leaving the military for more lucrative opportunities he went into the security business, training and providing bodyguards for oil-rich Arabs and to protect their Scottish estates from poachers. In 1990 he returned to uniform to serve on the staff of Britain's Gulf war commander Sir Peter de la Billiere. The SAS asked him to rejoin but instead he ventured with a partner into Angola's oil and gas industry, establishing a British offshoot of Executive Outcomes, the South African-based private security concern. Asked at a cocktail party what her son was now doing, his mother Margaret remarked: 'Simon always wanted his own army – and now he's got one.' Mann had three children by his first wife, Jennifer Barham, a member of the family who own the celebrated Hole Park Garden in Kent. He and Amanda were married in 1995. Also that year, he set up Sandline International, with another former Scots Guards officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, and it became involved in Sierra Leone's savage civil war. Sandline was alleged to have provided training and weapons to the Sierra Leone government in contravention of a UN arms embargo, helping the regime to regain control of the country's diamond fields. In the process Mann, however, became extremely rich. He bought Inchmery, a 20-acre estate on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, that once belonged to the Rothschilds. He also owned a private jet and a mansion in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia, where fellow residents included Earl Spencer and Mark Thatcher. There, he and his second wife, Amanda – mother of four of his seven children – became well-known figures on the Cape social scene. As well as meeting Baroness Thatcher, Mann agreed to play the part of Colonel Derek Wilford, commander of the paratrooper regiment who in 1972 fired on marchers in Londonderry, in a 2001 television reconstruction of Bloody Sunday. His next venture into the limelight was a very real drama, the Wonga Coup. The plot centred on removing President Obiang and replacing him with an exiled opposition leader. On top of a cash payment of $15million, Mann and his backers would have been granted concessions to exploit the country's vast offshore oil reserves. After his arrest in Harare, Mann was put through a mock execution by Robert Mugabe's thuggish security and threatened with being fed alive to crocodiles. To keep both mind and body active he measured the length of his cell – just seven paces – and walked the 1,560 miles from Harare to Cape Town, telling himself he would be freed when he completed the distance. When he arrived, he was still incarcerated so he set out to walk the distance back again. After publishing his memoirs, Cry Havoc, Mann struggled to find work, but two years ago he joined a green recycling company turning plastic waste into hydrogen. He attended a board meeting just hours before his death. On the domestic front, things were also not straightforward. His imprisonment took a heavy toll on his marriage and he and Amanda eventually parted. With Mann's death the curtain comes down on the era of the dashing, swashbuckling soldier of fortune...
BBC News
02-04-2025
- BBC News
Man jailed for attempted murder of ex-partner in Congham well
A man who tried to murder his former partner by throwing her into a disused well has been jailed for 24 Clifton Brown, 56, attacked Camilla Welby after they left a party at a friend's house in Norfolk in August drove her to High House Estate in Congham, near King's Lynn, which his family operated as a wedding venue, and after an argument, tried to push her down an old well. In January, he was found guilty of attempted murder, and Judge Alice Robinson said at sentencing on Friday: "It was an angry, drunken and petulant, albeit extreme, reaction." The court previously heard Clifton Brown, of Grimston Road, Congham, and Ms Welby had been in a relationship for 15 years - but were separated at the time of the was an Old Etonian whose grandfather was the high sheriff of Norfolk, and he came from a family that has included several court heard the pair had been to a drinks party and were driving back to a property where they lived separately at about 22:30 BST on 11 August her summary remarks at the trial, Judge Alice Robinson said Clifton Brown had become aggressive during an argument, which then delivered "numerous strikes to her face" and told her he would put her down the well "to kill her, then kill himself".The trial heard Clifton Brown attempted to drag Miss Welby from the car to the well, but she was able to stop the attack by wrapping her scarf around his Welby had a fractured nose, broken finger and extensive bruising to her head and face and was treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn. Clifton Brown was arrested at his home at 02:10 the following a police interview, Ms Welby said Clifton Brown had told her she would never see her unborn grandchildren and she believed she was going to be thrown into the defence had argued using the well was "completely impractical".However, the prosecution "drew attention to the fact he [Clifton Brown] filled the well that morning", the judge said.A police officer estimated the water level was 12ft below the top, the judge added. At sentencing, the judge added Ms Welby was "scared beyond means" and to this day struggled to drive on the route taken by Clifton Brown before the attack. "Camilla Welby suffered serious psychological harm," she defendant admitted to causing grievous bodily harm with intent as well as making a threat to defence lawyer described him as a "flawed individual, not a killer".The jury found him unanimously guilty of attempted murder after five hours of deliberation. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
