Restaurateurs are in despair at the growing problem of ‘dine and dash’ – in which customers leave without paying for their meal.
Now, one of this country’s fastest men has been accused of dashing off without settling his bill.
Sebastian Coe, who won two Olympic gold medals as a middle-distance athlete, is accused of doing a runner from one of London’s top restaurants.
Ranald Macdonald, who owns Boisdale of Belgravia, where Reform Party leader Nigel Farage held his extravagant 60th birthday party, has made the claim about Lord Coe, who became a Tory MP before leading the successful campaign for London to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
‘He is the only person who has done a runner from Boisdale,’ Macdonald tells me at the 12th annual Boisdale Music Awards, at the restaurant’s Canary Wharf branch in east London.
Sebastian Coe, who won two Olympic gold medals as a middle-distance athlete, is accused of doing a runner from one of London’s top restaurants
Lord Coe at the 1984 Olympics. The incident is said to have happened in 1995, while Coe was an MP. Macdonald suggests Coe may have been under the mistaken impression that his dining companion was paying the bill
Ranald Macdonald, who owns Boisdale of Belgravia (pictured), where Reform Party leader Nigel Farage held his extravagant 60th birthday party, has made the claim about Lord Coe
The incident is said to have happened in 1995, while Coe was an MP. Macdonald suggests Coe may have been under the mistaken impression that his dining companion was paying the bill.
‘He settled [the bill] with profuse apologies after I dropped an invoice to him at the House of Commons,’ the restaurateur says at the awards ceremony, which was attended by Coe’s ex-wife, Nicky McIrvine, with whom he has two sons and two daughters.
Scottish-themed Boisdale was founded in 1988 by Macdonald, who is the eldest son of the 24th Chief of Clanranald. Macdonald has been described as ‘London’s most politically incorrect restaurateur’ on account of his colourful views and friendship with Right-wing politicians such as Farage.
Lord Coe’s spokesman tells me that he does not recall the incident.
Lila and Lottie’s Moss party pose
Here’s an unusual snap: Kate Moss’s daughter, Lila, posing with the supermodel’s half-sister, Lottie.
The pair were spotted celebrating Lila’s 22nd birthday during Paris Fashion Week.
She is rarely seen with ‘aunt’ Lottie, 26, who revealed recently that at one point she had become so estranged from her family that even her own mother stopped talking to her.
Kate Moss’s daughter, Lila, posing with the supermodel’s half-sister, Lottie. She is rarely seen with ‘aunt’ Lottie, 26, who revealed recently that at one point she had become so estranged from her family that even her own mother stopped talking to her
The pair were spotted celebrating Lila’s 22nd birthday during Paris Fashion Week
The fall-out reportedly began when Lottie started stripping off for adult website OnlyFans.
But they enjoyed a get-together at a celebration for Lottie and Kate’s father, Peter, who turned 80.
Labour rescinds Dame Mary Archer’s appointment as chairman of the Royal Parks
Husband Jeffrey reveals: ‘She’d already been to see all the parks, met the chief executive, done the handover, and suddenly she gets a call saying, “You’re sacked”’
Dame Mary Archer was set to become chairman of the Royal Parks before her appointment was rescinded by the Labour Government.
Husband Jeffrey reveals: ‘She’d already been to see all the parks, met the chief executive, done the handover, and suddenly she gets a call saying, “You’re sacked”.’
In an interview Down Under, Lord Archer adds: ‘Members of the Royal Family had [already] rung and congratulated her.’
What does Sandi Toksvig have against comedienne Katherine Ryan?
What does Sandi Toksvig have against comedienne Katherine Ryan? Since Toksvig took over as host of quiz show QI from Stephen Fry in 2016, Ryan has not been on the BBC Two programme once.
In a rant about getting recognised in public, Ryan says: ‘I live in a community, people are allowed to recognise me from seeing me at gymnastics [with her children] to seeing me on QI years ago – before Sandi Toksvig took over and I am no longer on, coincidentally.’ Over to you, Sandi.
Since Sandi Toksvig took over as host of quiz show QI from Stephen Fry in 2016, Ryan has not been on the BBC Two programme once
Revealing… Ginola girl’s joie de vivre
David Ginola cashed in on his handsome features and luscious locks to become the face of L’Oreal hair products. Now, the former football star’s daughter is also turning heads.
Carla, 29, says she ‘went all in’ for Nina Ricci’s Paris Fashion Week by turning up to the venue at Hotel Potocki without a bra.
Carla Ginola (pictured), 29, says she ‘went all in’ for Nina Ricci’s Paris Fashion Week by turning up to the venue at Hotel Potocki without a bra
The French model, whose mother is Ginola’s ex-wife Coraline Ginola, wore a black sheer top with pin-striped shorts.
Last year, she married Adrien Rosenpick, the owner of a luxury streetwear brand. Meanwhile, her father, 57, who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, is now with Maeve Denak, a model 22 years his junior. This follows his 2016 divorce from Coraline, in which he agreed to a multi-million-pound settlement.
Christian Horner enjoys a hefty pay rise following bumpy year for him and wife Geri
Christian Horner with wife Geri Halliwell. Newly filed accounts for Red Bull Racing Ltd disclose that Horner, 50, was paid £7 million last year. That’s more than double the £3.4 million he received in 2022
The past year has been a bumpy ride for Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, and her husband, Christian Horner, who was cleared of allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ brought against him by a now-suspended female employee of his F1 team. But it’s been a lucrative year, nevertheless.
Newly filed accounts for Red Bull Racing Ltd disclose that Horner, 50, was paid £7 million last year. That’s more than double the £3.4 million he received in 2022.
Tycoon’s ‘grotesque’ Cotswolds mansion
Billionaire Ron Burkle (pictured) has infuriated locals in the Cotoswolds with his plans for a a country home in Oxfordshire
American billionaire Ron Burkle – chairman of Soho House, the private members’ clubs group which has a branch in the Cotswolds – has infuriated locals with his plans for a country home in Oxfordshire.
Little Tew Parish Council has branded his proposed project, which includes gardens, a stables courtyard, solar panels, a new lake and tree nursery, as an ‘unwarranted, unsustainable and unsuitable greenfield development’.
There are almost 20 objections so far, with one local, Margaret Norris, describing the plans as ‘grotesque’.
