EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Nick Clegg’s Spanish wife Miriam thinks Border Force officers ‘have it in for her’

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, now a senior executive at Facebook parent company Meta, returned from California last year with his wife, Miriam, and their three sons.

But Spanish lawyer Miriam, 54, thinks that Border Force officers already have it in for her, as well as other Europeans trying to enter the country.

Speaking about returning from a trip to Dubai, she says: ‘I was asked by the UK border police for proof that I had right of settlement in the UK.

‘I said that I had only received an email confirming the status and that I was told they had it on their records, but that the Home Office computer system was down.

‘Exactly the same thing had happened a few months ago to a friend and also to a family member — too many times for the excuse of the broken computer to be credible.’

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, now a senior executive at Facebook parent company Meta, returned from California last year with his wife, Miriam, and their three sons.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is still the bigger star as she poses with Gwendoline Christie

At 5ft 7in, Catherine Zeta-Jones is three inches taller than your average British woman — but the Oscar winner looked pint-sized when she posed next to Gwendoline Christie at the Bafta awards. 

The Game Of Thrones star, 44, who is 6ft 3in, towered over Zeta-Jones, 53, as they stood together at the Royal Festival Hall in London. 

The pair both appear in Netflix’s hit series Wednesday, which is a spin-off of The Addams Family, directed by Tim Burton. 

Swansea-born Zeta-Jones, whose husband is Fatal Attraction star Michael Douglas, 78, gushes: ‘I love Gwendoline.’

Gwendoline Christie, 44, who is 6ft 3in, towered over Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, as they stood together at the Royal Festival Hall in London

BBC bishop’s ‘murder’ claim broke rules on accuracy

Usually a sleepy morning show featuring wholesome religious items such as the Young Chorister of the Year competition, Radio 4’s Sunday programme has sparked complaints after a woman bishop accused the police of murder.

The Bishop of Croydon, the Right Rev. Rosemarie Mallett, referred to the ‘murder of Mark Duggan’ in an item broadcast last September.

A listener complained that this ‘grossly misrepresented’ the findings of the inquest into Duggan’s death, which concluded that his killing by a Metropolitan Police officer was lawful.

An inquiry was launched by the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to investigate whether the interview met the BBC’s editorial standards for accuracy.

The Barbados-born Bishop (pictured) made her comment in an interview about a protest march on the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police after the killing of a black musician, Chris Kaba.

Duggan, 29, who, police sources claimed, was a ‘well-known gangster’, was shot dead by a firearms officer in Tottenham, North London, in 2011. Police said they believed he was planning an attack and that he had been in possession of a handgun.

An inquest jury found that Duggan had been lawfully killed. His death led to riots.

The ECU says the BBC should have made clear to Radio 4 listeners that the idea that Duggan had been murdered was, at the least, contested.

The Bishop of Croydon, the Right Rev. Rosemarie Mallett, referred to the ‘murder of Mark Duggan’ in an item broadcast last September

‘In this instance, the ECU understood that the Bishop misspoke and would have said ‘death’ rather than ‘murder’ if it had been queried at the time.’

It adds: ‘The failure by the BBC to do this left listeners with an impression which was not consistent with the BBC’s standards of accuracy, and on that basis the complaint was upheld.’

It adds that the ‘programme team’ has been spoken to about its findings.

Kate fits Queen’s style like a glove 

No one was more thrilled to see the Princess of Wales in black opera gloves at the Bafta awards on Sunday evening than best-selling crime author Peter James.

For the gloves were made by Cornelia James, the company founded by his late mother.

‘She looked terrific,’ the novelist tells me. ‘So stylish. Wonderful to see her wearing gloves — especially Cornelia James ones.’

James, 74, whose thrillers such as Dead Simple featuring Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace are favourites of Queen Camilla, hopes that Catherine will now take a leaf out of Elizabeth’s book. ‘Perhaps she will follow in the fashion of the late Queen, who always wore gloves in public,’ he says.

Cornelia James began her lifelong association with the Royal Family when she was asked by dress designer Norman Hartnell to make the ‘going-away’ gloves for the then Princess Elizabeth to take on her honeymoon in 1947.

No one was more thrilled to see the Princess of Wales in black opera gloves at the Bafta awards on Sunday evening than best-selling crime author Peter James

Most people would treasure a gift from a prime minister, but apparently not Dawn French and Lenny Henry. For a copy of Gordon Brown’s 2007 book, Courage: Eight Portraits — and personalised by the author — was discovered in a charity shop. It includes a note addressed to ‘Dear Lenny and Dawn’ in which Brown wrote to the comedians: ‘This is a series of essays of men and women I greatly admire. I hope you have the opportunity to dip into it.’ Henry and French divorced in 2010 after 25 years. Clearly, they weren’t fighting over Brown’s book when they divided up their belongings.

Slim pickings for Amanda from Mac’s new range

Julien MacDonald’s return to London Fashion Week, after a four-year hiatus, was greeted with much fanfare, yet socialite Amanda Cronin warns his creations should be worn only by women with a model figure.

‘The pieces are so form-fitting you do have to have a good body,’ the beauty mogul, 54, tells me at the Julien x Gabriela AW23 show, which was sponsored by WeShop.

The super-rich divorcee, known for having ‘the longest legs in Belgravia’, adds: ‘I was looking at the collection and thinking, ‘I can see my daughter wearing a lot of them, but I think I can squeeze myself into only a few of those.’

Amanda Cronin warns Julien MacDonald’s creations should be worn only by women with a model figure

Some ‘edgy’ theatres shun Noel Coward because of the mistaken belief that he wrote only plays about posh people taking tea and saying ‘Anyone for tennis?’

The Donmar Warehouse in London has, however, deemed his classic comedy Private Lives so dangerous that it has issued a ‘content advisory’ trigger warning on its website to theatre-goers considering booking tickets for the production starring The Split actor Stephen Mangan.

‘Private Lives contains scenes that some people may find difficult to watch,’ it cautions of the 1930 play, which centres on a love affair. ‘There is strong language, swearing and use of derogatory terms. There are references to divorce and stillbirth; scenes of adultery, sexual coercion, verbal and physical abuse on stage.’

Even more ominously, it warns there are ‘cigarettes and consumption of alcohol’.

How have audiences coped for the past century?

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