The Londoner: BLM protest hero ‘politely declined’ a chat with Boris

Patrick Hutchinson, the Black Lives Matter activist who made headlines by carrying a counter-protester to safety in June, has written a book, set up an initiative and snubbed Boris Johnson.

At the Wimbledon Book festival at the weekend, Hutchinson spoke about why saved the racist protester, a former police officer. “The main reason was to preserve his life… and if he had been killed, I feel the media would have jumped on it and instead of being a far right extremist, he would have been a grandfather…murdered by protesters or black thugs, that’s the narrative I didn’t want.” He added that carrying his daughter up to bed when she falls asleep “was the perfect training for a situation like that”. Hutchinson said he had not heard from the man he saved, but “we did have one of Boris’s aides reach out to us to have a chat but we politely declined because at that stage we felt it was a bit more PR.”

However, he says he would like some time with the Prime Minister when he has formulated a plan especially around policing. “I’m not saying they should be submissive to us, but I am just saying there’s a way to talk to and treat people, just little things like that.”

It’s the season for sexy memoirs — Coleridge

NICHOLAS Coleridge, the V&A chairman whose best-selling memoir The Glossy Years detailed his work at Condé Nast, says he’s excited about the diaries of Sasha Swire, the wife of former MP Sir Hugo Swire. “It sounds very nearly as sensational as Barbara Amiel’s. I hope there is plenty of sex.” The Londoner understands Coleridge, unlike Swire, did forewarn a few of his subjects. Coleridge added: “This looks set to be a golden autumn for memoirs.” Cheeky.

Mum’s the word for new novelist Jones

RUTH JONES says there was no way she was going to record the audiobook for her first novel Never Greener because there was too much sex in it. The Gavin & Stacey star explains: “I couldn’t bear the thought of my mother hearing me say those things.”

How Deeley coaxed Prince to her level

CAT DEELEY recalls how she broke the ice with Prince after she was told “you can’t look him in the eye” when interviewing him. The presenter said to him: “You know that no one’s allowed to wear heels higher than me on this show, right?” He paused, then said: “That’s very funny.”

SW1A

AS Tory veteran Bill Cash spoke after Ed Miliband in the Internal Markets Bill debate yesterday, one Tory staffer raised an eyebrow. They wrote to online friends: “Someone once told me that Bill Cash has been reading from the same speech for the last 40 years, but keeps getting rudely interrupted by the Speaker”. Groundhog... career.

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SHADOW chancellor Anneliese Dodds says she didn’t have a plan to become an elected politician “for quite a long time” when asked where her politics came from. In fact, her first job was “as a kitchen porter”. Dodds tells Nick Robinson’s podcast: “I always say that’s my only transferable skill, washing dishes. In fact I washed so many I actually started dreaming about washing dishes.” Well, someone’s got to clean up this mess.