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The Londoner: Olympian Struggle for the Brexit Party

John Hitchcox the multi-millionaire businessman who owns the Olympia exhibition hall in west London, says he was mortified to discover last week that the venue had been booked by the Brexit Party for a political rally, due to be held there tomorrow.

Hitchcox, a vehement Remainer who says he has “green social democrat” sensibilities, says that his instinct was to reject the sum of more than £10,000 for the West Hall on grounds that “The Brexit Party is as far away as possible from my own [political] views.”

However, on discovering that organisation for the event was “too far to unwind,” he took the decision instead to give the proceeds from the event to two local charities: The Alf Dubs Children’s Fund and the Baron’s Court Project.

Although the venue is “politically agnostic,” and “a venue that believes in free speech and democracy”, Hitchcox tells The Londoner that the Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage is “right on the boundary” of what is acceptable. “The BNP and National Front are obviously over that line.”

Olympia is in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which voted overwhelmingly (70 per cent) to remain in the EU. The constituency MP is Labour's Andy Slaughter, who has been there since 2010.

Hitchcox says that local residents have been informed of the event and that there will be a police presence and “a response team available.” He adds: “Fingers crossed it will be as calm as it can be.”

This morning one local councillor said Hitchcox had made “a wise and balanced decision". However, both charities, when approached, said they were unaware of the gesture.

The West Hall seats up to 2,500 people, but when contacted this morning the venue said plenty of tickets were still available. A Brexit Party spokesman said of his decision: “Good for him."

ERG sets its price for backing Boris

(AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)

Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab can’t be certain of securing the votes of the ERG “purists” for their leadership bids because of disappointment that both voted for the withdrawal agreement. ERG sources say the “final decision” of 30-40 of the most hardcore members rests on whether either Johnson or Raab votes for the Prime Minister’s deal again when it comes back for a fourth time in June. “Unless they vote against the deal,” says a source, “the ERG will field a candidate of its own.” Steve Baker is “most likely” but Theresa Villliers and Owen Paterson are also contenders.

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Was the Australian election won by Lynton Crosby, the political strategist? Sources within the victorious Liberal National coalition, which employed him, are annoyed at Crosby getting the credit. Tory MPs here, however, wasted no time congratulating them for being a Right-leaning party defeating a Lefty Labor Party.

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Just William (Kensington Palace via Getty Imag)
Just William (Kensington Palace via Getty Imag)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took Prince George, five, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one, to the “family” garden at the Chelsea Flower Show their mother Kate helped design. Pity that non-royal under-fives are banned from the show and the Royal Horticultural Society charges over-fives full price.

A Cannes do attitude is all you need on Cote d'Azur

Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

The A-list gathered at a Vanity Fair party last night to celebrate the 72nd Cannes Film Festival at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

Willem Dafoe, who stars with Robert Pattinson in new film The Lighthouse, posed alongside Salma Hayek, who also nipped into Kering’s Women in Motion Awards the same night.

Actor and model Chloë Sevigny also joined the party. Sevigny, who is co-starring in the festival’s opening night premiere The Dead Don’t Die and debuting her new short film White Echo, has one bugbear with the festival: “I’m very frustrated right now that we’re in France and I can’t watch Game of Thrones.”

Adrien Brody was snapped with burlesque performer Dita Von Teese and Priyanka Chopra was with her husband, Nick Jonas. Four Weddings and a Funeral star Andie MacDowell was also at the gilded do.

SW1A

Boris Johnson, below, didn’t always want always to be PM. “My original ambition was to become a billionaire proprietor of a retail brand and the Jimmy Goldsmith of my generation!” he wrote to the author Dominic Shelmerdine in 2012. Friends say he has always been fixated with money. Fortunately Donald Trump has shown that the two obsessions are not mutually exclusive.​

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Former Lib-Dem minister David Laws recalls discussing with Tory Oliver Letwin who “the most important man in the country” was during the coalition. Laws's view that it was the PM was, he says, met with a roar of laughter. So too the suggestion it was Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary. “He said how naive I was,” Laws tells Iain Dale’s podcast. The correct answer? “Sue Gray… head of ethics and proprietary matters.” Letwin said “the Chinese and Russians had probably been bugging all the wrong phones”.

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