She’s a British-Canadian journalist most famous for having an “extravagance that knows no bounds.” He was a media baron who denounced his Canadian citizenship to become a British peer. Life began to unravel in 2005 when he was charged and subsequently convicted on various charges of defrauding Hollinger, the company he led. “Citizen Black” got out of jail a year early and now he and his feisty Manolo wearing sidekick are back on the rampage. Watch out.
Tag: Prime Minister
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Lord & Lady Black (Conrad Black & Barbara Amiel)
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Sir Christopher and Lady Meyer
Sir Christopher and Lady Meyer love the media circuit and television sofas. (more…) -
Rupert Murdoch
This father of six is a media mogul who doesn’t back down. Faced with being labeled the prime culprit in the phone hacking debacle, he battles on. His second wife Wendi packs a mean left hook. -
Rebekah Brooks
The youngest editor of a British national newspaper and a former wife of Eastender Ross Kemp. Educated in Warrington but now more likely to be found enjoying a day trip on a private jet to Venice. A true survivor who should not yet be written off. -
A fact isn’t a fact until you’ve checked it’s a fact
The case for the regulation of the UK’s property industry
Don’t get me wrong: I know many good estate agents. At the age of 15, I worked for an incredibly respectable firm based in Lancashire. My boss, a thoroughly charming individual, was one of my earliest influences and I still respect him enormously.
Equally, those who have completed the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ courses are people deserving of respect. They are individuals who are professional and knowledgeable. As their website states, over 18,000 follow them on Twitter and their expertise is second to none.
Before putting up a “to let” board, agents should check who really owns the property they are instructed on In recent days, however, after personally witnessing how one firm of agents have conducted themselves, my thoughts on the negativity that surrounds this “profession” has again been proven true. An apartment in a building I know in London has a most interesting tale. Owned by an old lady who died, it was sold on a short-lease by her executors. The subsequent owners bought this and supposedly then managed to persuade two banks to lend against fictitious longer leases on it. When, eventually, the banks repossessed, the flat remained empty for over a year but several months ago one of the individuals involved smashed down the door and effectively returned as a squatter.
The person concerned spent some time renovating the property before putting it up for rent through a local estate agent. Said agent plainly did no research into whether this person actually owned the apartment. They did not check the deeds or ask questions of their client. The reason for this, they’d argue, is that they are not required to but they were also too lazy to bother. That speaks volumes but because agents are not regulated, such conduct occurs more often than one can imagine. It should not be allowed to continue.
The River House, 435 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022. Well known residents of this block have included Nancy and Henry Kissinger and Susan and John Gutfreund. The building’s co-operative by-laws prevent it being named in real estate listings. If Prime Minister Cameron wants to boost his much dented popularity, he should act on this issue. Estate agents should be made, like in the USA, to qualify just as those working in financial services have to go through FSA authorisation. Purchasing or renting a home is something that consumes the majority of the income of any individual and such transactions should be better governed.
Equally, the owners of estates, such as Cadogan and Grosvenor, ought to become more selective about who they allow to take leases in their respective manors. In New York, many buildings operate by committee. The River House, designed by William Lawrence Bottomley, between 52nd and 53rd Street and the East River in New York, is a prime example of the power of co-op boards. The owners of apartments in this 26-storey landmark, built in 1931 and staffed by white gloved doormen, rejected Richard Nixon, Gloria Vanderbilt and Diane Keaton when they applied to live there. They rightly did their research on these personalities as they did not want to lower the tone of their residence or endure paparazzi intrusion. Similarly, here in London residents should be able to vote to stop noisy youngsters with more money than sense, criminals and so-called celebrities bringing havoc to the buildings where they reside.
A 14-room apartment currently available at The River House through Brown Harris Stevens at a price of $8,995,000 Regulating estate agents and residential buildings more effectively is a sure vote winner as most people I speak to tell of bad experiences. It is time the British government got to work.
For more information on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, go to: http://www.rics.org
For more information on the apartment in The River House contact either Alexis Bodenheimer of Brown Harris Stevens on +1 212 906 9230 or email her at [email protected] or Cathy Franklin of the same company on +1 212 906 9236 or email her at [email protected], go to: http://www.bhsusa.com/manhattan/midtown-east/east-52nd-street/coop/1216446
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The horse has already bolted
My thoughts on the arrest of Charlie and Rebekah Brooks
Whilst growing up, at home, when my family spoke of “hacking” we were talking about taking the horses out into the countryside. Now, sadly, this term has become more associated with Rupert Murdoch, News Corp and a bunch of bleating celebrities than with a leisurely pleasure ride.
Author and horse trainer Charlie Brooks and his wife Rebekah pictured at Royal Ascot When the former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, whom I’d argue has wrongly been made the sole “she-devil” of this seamlessly growing scandal, was arrested along with her husband this morning, I have to say I immediately thought how convenient the timing must have been for many in the public eye.
Today marks the start of The Cheltenham Festival 2012, an event that undoubtedly the horse trainer Charlie Brooks and his wife would have been attending. That their home in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire happened to be raided on this particular morning, to me, seems like nothing other than an attempt to prevent further “horsegate” references and a bid to save further embarrassment for David Cameron and the Metropolitan Police.
A photoshopped picture of The Right Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on a horse Recent revelations that Scotland Yard had lent an ex-police horse, Raisa, to Mrs Brooks were not helpful to the Prime Minister, who had to concede he’d ridden the animal in the company of Mr Brooks, an old friend from their Eton schooldays. Puns a plenty followed and they were something that Cameron did not want to on “furlong.”
As such, the inevitable photographs that would have appeared this week of Mr & Mrs Brooks in their tweeds with racehorses would have just brought further salaciously horsey headlines and further embarrassment. I do indeed suspect this is the real reason for the arrest of the couple between 5am and 7am this morning.
The Brooks’s may be guilty. They may be innocent. Either way, the timing of their arrests just stinks on the part of Operation Weeting. Though I’ll not gain many plaudits for suggesting this, I say shame on the Metropolitan Police.
For more on The Cheltenham Festival, go to: http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk
For a profile on Mr & Mrs Charlie Brooks by The Daily Telegraph, go to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/9140263/Profile-Rebekah-and-Charlie-Brooks.html