EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Keir Starmer’s business contact went bust on the day they met
Eager to demonstrate that he is almost as relaxed as Lord Mandelson about people becoming ‘filthy rich’, Sir Keir Starmer says he leads a party which is ‘proud of being pro-business’. But his quest to cosy up to business bigwigs is not without risks.
Indeed, I can reveal that just two weeks ago the Labour leader was welcomed to a business meeting hosted by Linda Riley, a director whose company, Global Diversity Awards Ltd, was, by a quirk of fate, dissolved on the very same day.
The company’s demise followed acerbic comments made in successive reports by the liquidator trying to untangle its affairs and recover £831,000 lent by Global to Historic Tours Ltd – whose sole director was Linda’s half-sister, Jenny Decoteau.
Riley, 61, had founded Global in 2012, but decided to wind it up six years later. The process did not run smoothly.
In his first report, in 2020, the liquidator, Yiannis Koumettou, ‘identified various areas of concern’ relating ‘to the dissipation of company assets prior to liquidation…as well as the inter-company loan provided to HTL, the director’s loan account and the lack of physical records/contracts’.
RICHARD EDEN: Keir Starmer and Linda Riley at a Pride breakfast event at Pancras Square in London in June
After noting that ‘HTL was itself facing financial difficulties’, and recording that portable cabins were Global’s main asset – ‘which the director claimed were either lost or destroyed’ – he added that ‘extended investigative work has now begun’.
A year later, Koumettou was no happier. ‘The director has failed to co-operate,’ he recorded, ‘[and] has been given one final opportunity to meet with the liquidator…should she fail to do so, then steps will be taken…to enforce her co-operation’.
The warning presumably had some effect. In his final report, filed at Companies House last November, Koumettou said ‘a meeting has now been held’. But of ‘the monies said to have been advanced to Historical Tours Ltd’, not a penny had been recovered.
After considering ‘a potential preference claim’ against Riley ‘with regards to these funds’, Koumettou decided that, because she was ‘residing in the USA and does not appear to own any assets in the UK’, a claim ‘may not be cost effective’.
Riley, now back in Britain, could not be reached for comment. But she seems in good heart – especially when with So Macho songstress Sinitta. ‘They holiday together in Barbados,’ a chum tells me. But perhaps in future Starmer will be a little warier of plunging in with Linda?
When Lindy put Damian in DIY
She was a scion of the Guinness family born in an airport, raised at Belvoir Castle and friends with David Hockney and Truman Capote, yet the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava’s high society upbringing didn’t prevent a cheeky faux pas when she met Hollywood star Damian Lewis.
Her cousin Miranda Payne recalls being at a party with Lindy Dufferin, as the marchioness was known, in Chelsea Physic Garden.
‘We were sitting on a bench when Lewis came up to have a chat. Keith [Miranda’s husband] whispered to Lindy, ‘He’s the actor from Homeland’.’
In a new book The Last Marchioness: A Portrait Of Lindy Dufferin, Payne explains: ‘With all her enthusiasm, Lindy said to Damian, ‘I know — you are the boy from Homebase, it’s my favourite shop.’
She adds: ‘Damian took it well. He was amused. He said, ‘I have been called many things but this is a first.’ Lindy’s blue eyes twinkled.’
Hollywood star Rosamund Pike recently slammed the ‘wellness’ industry for ‘conning’ the public and being a way for women to be controlled.
But she has now found a bizarre way to unwind of which she approves.
The Gone Girl and James Bond star shared a video online of her using a meditation app on her smartphone that illuminates her face with flashing lights.
‘The colours, patterns and deep calm I sense while using the app never cease to amaze me,’ she gushes. ‘The power and simplicity of the experience is undeniable . . . the science behind it is rigorous.’
Let’s hope so, because Pike, 44, has become a creative director of the company that makes it. And we wouldn’t want anyone to accuse her of ‘conning’ them…
Shine a light: Rosamund Pike with her new meditation app
Fashion event bags a pair of royal cousins
Pick of the parties
THE OCCASION: Party to celebrate the launch of the Longchamp x Toiletpaper Magazine ‘Pop Revolution’ Collection of bags and accessories, at Longchamp’s flagship store in Regent Street, London.
WORK OF ART: The Duke of Kent’s grandson Cassius Taylor, 26, attended with his cousin Lady Amelia Windsor, 27. ‘I haven’t seen her in a while, so it’s fun to come and enjoy ourselves,’ he tells me.
The son of Lady Helen Taylor and art dealer Timothy Taylor, Cassius, too, works in the art world. ‘I just curated an exhibition called Birdsong, featuring a group of British artists… all the proceeds are going to the Royal Marsden [hospital].’
PIXIE OF THE POPS: Guests including newly single Hollywood actress Elle Fanning, 25, (below right) in a chic black sheer dress, were entertained with a DJ set from Pixie Geldof, 32, (below left) daughter of Live Aid founder Bob Geldof.
The Duke of Kent’s grandson Cassius Taylor, 26, attended with his cousin Lady Amelia Windsor, 27
Guests including newly single Hollywood actress Elle Fanning, 25, (right) in a chic black sheer dress, were entertained with a DJ set from Pixie Geldof, 32, (left) daughter of Live Aid founder Bob Geldof
Novak Djokovic, who plays Jannik Sinner in a semi-final today, hopes the Princess of Wales will be at Wimbledon again.
‘It’s great that she comes to watch,’ his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, tells me. ‘She has a great passion about tennis and I saw her playing very well.’
Speaking at the Sergio Tacchini launch party at Selfridges, he adds: ‘It’s always nice when you play Wimbledon to look at the Royal Box and see someone like that watching.
‘It’s a privilege and it is only here, that’s why it’s the biggest tournament, because of the courts and those special moments.’
In an already epic Ashes series, there have been times when it’s appeared Ben Stokes has been taking the battle to the Australians single-handedly — not least when smashing five sixes in his first innings of 80 at Headingley.
But it doesn’t mean he’s taken his eye off the ball at BAS Promotions, his image rights company he runs with his wife, Clare. It’s just reported total earnings amounting to £2.1 million — a £336,000 increase on the past financial year.
Silent Witness star Liz Carr has a confession to make. Having been cast in Netflix hit The Witcher alongside heart-throb Henry Cavill, the 51-year-old actress, whispers: ‘I probably shouldn’t say this, but . . . I didn’t really know what else he’d done.’
Cavill, 40, played Superman in blockbusters such as Justice League. But Carr adds: ‘I don’t watch superhero stuff, so had no sense of how big he was.’
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