PR makes spy story a political enigma
It’s murder bumping off an ex-KGB spy on the quiet these days. And there’s a very good reason for that: the PR battle bubbling beneath the surface of the Litvinenko affair. First out of the traps was Lord Bell, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite ad man, who is advising Boris Berezovsky, the billionaire Russian exile and friend of the unfortunate spy. Back came the Kremlin, which has Portland PR advising it during its presidency of the G8. Intriguingly their managing director, Tim Allan, made his name working for Tony Blair as Alastair Camp-bell’s No 2. Then the Russian newspaper Izvestia claimed, bizarrely, that: “British PR men ordered the sacrifice of Litvinenko.” Where will it all end? With Max Clifford and Simon Fuller guest-starring in Spooks?
Osvaldas Markevicius, head of the administration of the Office of the President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus — stick with us, it’s worth it — has had to resign over a row about a lavatory redecorated for our Queen’s recent visit. Responding to criticism of the decision to spend 200,000 litas (about £40,000) on gold-plating the loo Mr Markevicius said that the decor had been coordinated with the President’s spouse. Mr Adamkus was not happy that his wife had been dragged into the argument and Mr Markevicius had to resign. The Queen, apparently, never used the toilet, but then she doesn’t, does she?
Jungle round-up.In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the celebs try alternative and very messy beauty treatments. Everyone gets misty-eyed over Malandra Burrows’s eviction (“Classy, classy, classy” — David Gest; “As soon as she laughed, we all laughed” — Dean Gaffney). Gaffney is locked in the dark with some creepy crawlies. Gest tells of his nude sunbathing 97-year-old aunt. And we realise that we will never be the same again after chuckling for far too long at the name of Gest’s maid — Vaginika Seaman. Sigh. Only one more day to go.
Not content with fronting U2 and trying to save the planet, Bono has a new hobby: patronising world leaders. Yesterday he referred to Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, as “very cool” for daring to wear the Giorgio Armani sunglasses which he is promoting as part of the Red antiAids campaign. “George Bush never put them on,” he said after the meeting. “The last Pope, John Paul, he put them on, and Prime Minister Abe. Very cool.” Cool, or just the only polite option when a man who evidently loves his very similar sunglasses lends you a pair to try on?
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Postscript
Bill Bryson is so appalled at littering that he has begun a campaign against it. He asks like-minded people to e-mail him at bill.bryson@durham.ac.uk. We say “like-minded”, but here’s his solution: “Personally I would introduce a shoot-to-kill policy.”
Roman Abramovich has a hitherto neglected cultural side. He is helping to fund an exhibition by the Uzbek snapper Max Penson (1893-1959) which opened yesterday at Somerset House in London. The Times review described it as “fascinatingly uneven”, rather like Chelsea’s performances this season.
Could the Government be embroiled in a new bribes scandal? Lunch with the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and we want to know her views on the defection of Michael Grade from the BBC to ITV. “Before I answer that question,” she says, stirring her coffee, “can I have the milk?” Milk for questions? How low will they go?
Hugo Rifkind is away
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