Samuel Kasumu; Boris Johnon
(Picture: Twitter; Ukrainian Presidential Press Office)A Downing Street adviser who suddenly resigned from the Government last year is expected to reveal the reasons for his departure in a new book.
Samuel Kasumu who was an adviser to Boris Johnson, left No 10 last spring during a row over a controversial report which said the UK wasn’t systemically racist. He has never fully revealed his reasons for leaving but yesterday announced his new book, The Power of the Outsider. In it, he will share details of his experience.
Kasumu is a frontrunner to be the Tory candidate in the next London mayoral election. He believes his party should focus less on culture wars and more on housing. A source close to Kasumu told The Londoner: “Samuel believes the time for modernisation in the Tory party will come again and he wants to be central to that.”
She who wears the trousers
Emma Thompson plays the terrifying headteacher Miss Trunchbull in the new version of Matilda, but lost the power to frighten her young co-stars when her trousers fell down during filming. “The children in the scene couldn’t stop laughing,” she said at a talk at the German School in Richmond last night for her book, Jim’s Spectacular Christmas. “I kept saying ‘Shut up all of you. I’m Miss Trunchbull and I’m scary!’” she said — but to no avail.
Four’s a crowd
Four Tory prime ministers were at a Conservative Friends of Israel lunch this week, neatly sat on different tables. Rishi Sunak spoke, watched by Liz Truss (whom he replaced), Boris Johnson (whom he deposed) and Theresa May. Sunak praised his predecesors for tackling anti-Israeli bias, said he would make it illegal for Brits to boycott Israel, and announced a trip there next year.
Auction houses turn to the B-list
London’s auction houses were once known for selling works by Old Masters such as Rubens and Canaletto. But a mixture of Brexit and changing tastes has led to a slump in the market, with New York now the new hub. “Sotheby’s are having to make the most of B-plus paintings,” reports the Art Newspaper, dejectedly. It isn’t all bad, though: they did sell one canvas by Titian for around £10m last week.
Last night in town
Musician Nile Rodgers looked chic as he played a carol concert in Chelsea in aid of Nordoff Robbins, a music therapy charity, last night. Also in town was Chris Martin of Coldplay, who went to see US director Mandana Biscotti’s film about Iranian music on the Southbank. In Soho, Dior hosted a screening of Eddie Redmayne’s film The Good Nurse while Emilia Boateng toasted a new ski range from Ellesse and Michael Kors at the Trafalgar Hotel. At the BFI, Ruth Wilson went to a screening of the new series of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Pullman called his cast “utterly amazing”
