Fury at pro-hunting peer's animal welfare brief
Thursday, 12 July 2007
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* Since Gordon Brown shuffled the ministerial deck at the Department of Farming and Rural Affairs, he has learnt that when it comes to the inflamed passions of the countryside, it's nigh on impossible to keep everyone happy.
First up, the Prime Minister made Hilary Benn the ministry's Secretary of State. As noted in this column, since Benn is a self-confessed vegetarian his appointment was like rolling a live grenade into a pub full of angry farmers and watching what happened.
Now, he's awarded the portfolio of Animal Health and Welfare to Lord Rooker, a Labour peer and now a major bête noire of the animal rights lobby.
According to a list of Rooker's principal interests posted on the Defra website, he's a big fan of country sports.
And despite the predominantly "anti" sentiments among his party, he voted in favour of regulated hunting rather than the outright ban in 2004.
"Jeff Rooker really hasn't been a great friend to animal welfare in the past,' says a spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports. "However, we hope policy will be shaped by the department head, Hilary Benn, who has been good to us".
A spokesman for Defra, denies that Rooker's views could be a problem.
"Jeff Rooker does have an interest in both the countryside and countryside sports, particularly clay pigeon shooting and rambling," I'm told. "This is not something that conflicts with his long-standing commitment to animal welfare."
* Steven Berkoff is the latest star of London's theatreland to regale against the capital's notorious traffic wardens. In a letter to yesterday's Evening Standard, the steely-eyed former Bond villain has accused Hackney Council of running a racket comparable to the days of the Kray twins.
"My car was towed away behind the Hackney Empire where I thought I could legally park," he writes. "At the pound I produced my keys, driving licence, credit cards and congestion zone card. I was refused the car because I didn't have my insurance documents and logbook with me.
"It was safer under the Krays; at least you knew they were lawless."
Berkoff could do worse than contact his fellow actor Tom Conti, who heads the London Motorists' Action Group. His organisation is a strenuous campaigner against the city's excessive parking fines.
* GMTV autocutie Penny Smith is about to dip her toes into the rose-petal-filled waters of "chick" literature.
"I'm writing a book about a fortysomething television presenter who is constantly worried she's going to get fired because she's getting old and losing her looks," she told me at the launch of Vanilla restaurant, in central London, on Tuesday evening.
"It's a composite of characters I know, but it is definitely not autobiographical. I'm even thinking of calling it 'Coming Up Next'," she joked, "so I can plug it whenever I'm on air."
It sounds like a total riot. Though I do hope Smith and her 46-year-old colleague Fiona Phillips are not going to come to blows when the book is released in September.
* There was an inauspicious start for the new Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, at Chatham House yesterday.
Ban, making his first appearance in London since his appointment, made a 40-minute speech to foreign policy wonks on why the UN mattered.
It was not a showstopper. The audience was largely unmoved, and at least two members were at one point spotted rudely catching forty winks in their seats.
"What a snoozeathon," remarks my mole. "But at least towards the end Mr Ban had the good grace to acknowledge he'd banged on a bit."
Next up, Ban had one-on-one meetings with David Miliband and Gordon Brown. I do hope they were sitting comfortably.
* One of Alastair Campbell's first great coups as Tony Blair's communications supremo, he says, was to convince "TB" to appear on The Des O'Connor Show.
According to his recently published diaries, Campbell was set on the idea. Sulky old Blair wasn't so sure. As it was, Campbell got his way and the boss and his perma-tanned host hit it off big time.
Writes Campbell: "TB called to APOLOGISE. He said everywhere he had been today people had come up to him and said they had seen him on Des O'Connor and he was fantastic."
Phoney Tony's "Lavender list" is due any day now. After Lord Mandy, can Sir Des be far behind?
