The Londoner: Led By Donkeys back to cast light on anti-heroes

Led By Donkeys have restarted their billboard campaign to “create a record of heroes and anti-heroes” during the coronavirus crisis.

“When coronavirus hit we felt that there had never been a time that required more accountability than now,” a spokesman for the group told the Londoner this morning. The four-man outfit, which began as an anti-Brexit guerilla campaign, have put up posters in Hereford and Dorset in the last 24 hours and intend to add more.

Although they hung up their spurs after projecting a message on the Dover cliffs on January 31, they decided to restart after “looking at pics of Cheltenham where there were tens of thousands packed together and at the same time Barack Obama was tweeting that public gatherings should stop”.

“It became obvious early on that the crisis was bringing out the very best in some people,” Led By Donkeys said, but added that it “also brought out not exactly the best. Some of the tycoons we feted with knighthoods are now coming to the public for bailouts”.

The group say they observed lockdown rules as they used only one individual to put up the posters. Let’s hope for more heroes than anti-heroes.

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WHEN Mark Ronson climbed a rickety scaffold to make his first appearance at Notting Hill Carnival in the early 2000s, a man at the top told him, “if you hear someone let off a gunshot, just play something mellow”. “I was like ‘oh ok. noted!’” Ronson tells Clara Amfo’s podcast. “I had Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye on standby.” A certified crowd soother.

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Already there’s a novel. Author Peter May, who has just released Lockdown, about London in the time of a pandemic, tells us he wrote it 15 years ago but never published, and when somebody on Twitter said “why don’t you write and research a book — I said ‘Hang on a minute I’ve already done that’.” If Blue Peter did novels...

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Roll up, artistic over-70s. New awards, The King Lear Prizes, have launched for over 70s “with no professional experience in the arts, to create new works of writing, poetry, drama, music and art during the time they are quarantined”. The Prizes are named after Shakespeare’s play which he wrote in 1605-1606 “during outbreaks of the plague in London.” Poetry judge Gyles Brandreth told possible entrants “If you have a poem inside you, get it out. Get it on paper and get it to us”. Pick up your pens.

SW1A

Laura Parker, former private secretary to Jeremy Corbyn and and ex national co-ordinator of influential far left-wing campaign group Momentum, tells us why she's backing Sir Keir Starmer for Labour leadership. The party will announce its new leader tomorrow and Parker says she believes “he’s intellectual, accomplished and would make a good Prime Minister.” Parker’s public backing of Starmer is notable as it goes against Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum who is running Rebecca Long-Bailey’s campaign, dubbed the “continuity Corbyn” candidate. Parker says Starmer can bring the party together and win. “What sealed the deal for me were his ten pledges which show he's radical and won’t just bin the policy advances of the last few years.” She also admires his “pro-European, internationalism and his record on human rights.” She concedes that “Corbyn had a broad base at the start of his leadership but it narrowed over time” and believes that even though Momentum is backing Long-Bailey, its members will get behind Starmer if he wins, which is predicted. Parker’s endorsement is a signal that Starmer is unlikely to suddenly drag the party to the centre but hey, things can only get better.

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As colleagues praise Matt Hancock — “We have missed his leadership,” says Jeremy Hunt, “Welcome Back,” says Tobias Ellwood — spare a thought for stand-ins Alok Sharma, Robert Jenrick and Dominic Raab.

Lockdown Lottie’s hair advice to keep her fans in the pink

Pink is the colour of lockdown for Lottie Moss, who gives some fan service “for everyone asking for the hair”. Also taking an assertive approach to lockdown was Elizabeth Hurley, who picked up a chainsaw for some “manual labour”. Watch out, logs. Meanwhile, crooner Robbie Williams admonished his young son Beau to “drink your milk” and go to sleep. We’ve all got to do our bit.​