The 'Carrie Antoinette' scandal over the Downing St flat could be all in the genes


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As the row over Boris Johnson and the decorating of the Downing Street flat dominates the British media, it’s clear that at its core is a familiar charge of who benefits when cash is donated.

The question of who paid for the gold wallpaper and all the other trappings assembled by the Prime Minister’s preferred designer would not be raised at all if the person paying from the outset had been Boris himself.

His claim now is that he covered the cost. But the story has changed and keeps changing. Was it a Tory donor originally? Was it the Conservative Party? Was it a personal loan to Johnson, enabling him to hand over the £58,000 – the amount left over after the £30,000 public allowance is taken off?

Because of the lack of clarity, the Electoral Commission is now probing to see if the rules regarding political donations have been broken and if an offence has been committed.

It's also managed to go to the heart of British life and become a conversation piece, the fact that Carrie Symonds, Johnson's fiancee, so took against the existing decor as "too John Lewis". Ouch.

Up and down the land, thousands of households are left reeling by the put down from Ms Symonds – or should that be Carrie Antoinette – of furniture and fabrics from the highly regarded, popular department store.

Symonds has been silent but I've wondered about her perspective and whether the episode has brought back memories

It is true that Johnson is known to be wayward with money. He took a loan from his former campaign manager in 2019. He is reported to have spent more than £12,000 on luxury hamper deliveries alone in a year. In recent days he has put his Oxfordshire home up for rent.

Ms Symonds has been silent but I've wondered about her perspective and whether the episode has brought back memories. The 33 year old's father Matthew was a co-founder of The Independent, along with Sir Andreas Whittam Smith and Stephen Glover.

I worked at The Independent. Matthew was fiercely bright, but also prone to being abrasive and stern. Of the founders, he was the least clubbable, not as prone to a relaxed, enjoyable chat, not with the underlings anyway.

From the off, the trio, led by Whittam Smith, determined that their newspaper should be different. It had to be apart from the rest – independent in name and in nature.

The Fleet Street tradition of journalists having free rein over their expense claims would not apply. Neither would its staff receive “freebies”, they would not be in someone else’s pocket and risk having their objectivity compromised – the title would pay its own way or not at all.

In 1987, Symonds, who was married with children, had a mistress – it's a quaint term now, but it was commonly used then and as Glover points out in his book, Paper Dreams, about the early years of The Independent, that is what Symonds himself called her.

Symonds' expenses scandals – a family history

A dispute had previously erupted between Whittam Smith and Symonds over the claiming of a double room to cover a party conference. As Glover recounts, it cost an extra £10.

Whittam Smith consulted Glover and said: “There are a lot of things I am prepared to put up with, but the one thing I will not tolerate is fiddling of expenses, defrauding the company.”

Glover said it was wrong, “but it was only ten pounds. He should obviously be asked to pay it back and be read the riot act”. This did not satisfy Whittam Smith. “If Matthew can cheat us out of ten pounds, he can cheat us out of ten thousand pounds! Don’t you agree?”

Whittam Smith wanted to fire him. Glover sprang to Symonds’ defence and pleaded for him to be spared. Eventually, Whittam Smith backed down.

Andreas Whittam Smith was one of 'The Independent's' founding troika alongside Carrie's father, Matthew Symonds, and Stephen Glover. Getty
Andreas Whittam Smith was one of 'The Independent's' founding troika alongside Carrie's father, Matthew Symonds, and Stephen Glover. Getty

There was then another altercation between the two over a trip to a Grand Prix with the sports editor. Symonds, a motoring enthusiast, was going along to help educate his colleague on the intricacies of Formula One.

Whittam Smith complained it would look like a freebie, even though the company was paying, and objected. According to Glover, they almost came to blows, with Whittam Smith instructing: “Matthew, you must learn to do what you are told.”

Then, in July 1987, the scandal magazine Private Eye reported a story which had been doing the rounds in the paper's offices, that Symonds had taken his mistress to New York and stayed at the ritzy Algonquin hotel.

It was a small room and there was no extra charge to the company, explained Symonds. “It seems not to occur him now or later that he has acted unwisely,” writes Glover. Whatever the facts, it looked bad.

Reading Glover's account today, the similarities are obvious

Private Eye continued to run stories attacking Symonds. It was clear that someone or some people at the paper were out to harm him. Whittam Smith, Glover and Symonds consulted an external libel lawyer who advised there was little that could be done.

In 1988, Symonds’ mistress, Josephine McAfee, a lawyer at the newspaper, gave birth to Carrie. Symonds remained with the paper until 1994.

Reading Glover's account today, the similarities are obvious: the relatively trivial nature of the supposed misdemeanour – there must be many world leaders shaking their heads at a premier having to pay to upgrade an apartment over his place of work; the twisting and turning; the presence of too much information (to the delight of Private Eye, they received the leak of a detailed memorandum from Symonds to Whittam Smith); and a lack of perception as to how someone's actions can be viewed.

When the libel lawyer advised against pursuing Private Eye, Symonds raged: "I just feel so let down, so incredibly let down." I can imagine Johnson, now engaged to Symonds' daughter, saying exactly the same.

Chris Blackhurst is a former editor of The Independent, based in London

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Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

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In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

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RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

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Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy

Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it

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Thursday’s fixtures

6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors

10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters

Teams

Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.

Squad rules

All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.

Tournament rules

The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

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India Test squad

Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
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Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
match info

Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')

Liverpool 0

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New schools in Dubai
Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier

ICC Academy, November 22-28

UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal

ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan 

UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman

Fringe@Four Line-up

October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)

October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)

November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)

November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)

November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)

November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)

November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)

December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)

Pakistanis%20at%20the%20ILT20%20
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Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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ENGLAND TEAM

England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph

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PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS

Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young