After Sir Keir Starmer appointed him Foreign Secretary, David Lammy declared: ‘I have been underestimated all my life.’
However, I discovered that the world’s most widely used online encyclopedia falsely claimed for a time that it had a first-class degree.
According to SOAS, University of London, Lammy graduated in 1993 with a second-degree in law.
After a career in law, he was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 2000 and was quickly appointed Health Secretary by Tony Blair.
When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, he gave Lammy the role of Minister for Universities.
According to SOAS, University of London, David Lammy graduated in law in 1993 with a Second Class degree, but his Wikipedia page claimed for seven years that it was a First Class degree.
Over five days in 2010, the year Labour lost the general election, almost 20 separate edits were made to Lammy’s Wikipedia page, adding material complimentary to him.
A moderator on the site opposed the changes, stating that the “page needed to be secured.”
The moderator added: ‘I suspect the edits are coming from the Lammy office or a ‘Close Supporter’.’
The edits could be traced to two sources: a user named ‘Brownsymeon’, who only edited Lammy’s page and whose account has since been deleted, and an IP address in Westminster.
David Lammy’s degree at SOAS was the source of much debate on his Wikipedia page
Although order was eventually restored to the page, the claim that Lammy had achieved a First persisted for another seven years.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.
Still, you could forgive Lammy, 52, if he’s sensitive about his intellect.
His appearance on Celebrity Mastermind in 2008 led to much ridicule after he finished last in the BBC television quiz show with just 13 points.
The minister forgot to name the highest seats in the theatre as ‘the gods’ and suggested that the cheese often eaten with port was red Leicester rather than Stilton.
His feat, however, was his claim that the monarch who succeeded Henry VIII was ‘Henry VII’.
GQ’s Testino cover capers
Mario Testino, who took some of the most famous photographs of Princess Diana, was fired by Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue and GQ, after he was accused of misconduct, including sexual assault, by 13 male models and assistants.
The Peruvian photographer denies the claims, but probably thinks former GQ editor-in-chief Dylan Jones is adding further insult to injury by now bizarrely claiming that the magazine deliberately underrated the 2011 issue of GQ, which featured Testino as a cover star.
“We were celebrating a world-famous photographer,” Jones says.
Mario Testino, pictured in London in May 2023
“He demanded to be on the cover, but we didn’t want to put him on the cover.”
He adds: ‘We did the smallest possible run with this person on the cover and we knew where they lived, so we just [the copies] in Notting Hill and Holland Park, so if he went to WHSmith he would see himself at the forefront… I can tell you what Mario Testino thought about that.’
Proposal for Royal Ballet star
Ballet star Francesca Hayward danced for joy after her colleague, Cesar Corrales, proposed to her last weekend.
The 32-year-old prima ballerina was on holiday in Spain with Corrales, 27, when he got down on his knees on a Barcelona beach.
“I said yes (of course),” Francesca confirms.
Royal Ballet star Francesca Hayward danced for joy after fellow dancer Cesar Corrales proposed to her over the weekend
The prima ballerina, 32, was on holiday in Spain with Corrales, 27, when he got down on one knee on the beach in Barcelona
Nadiya’s proof that Strictly has good habits!
Strictly Come Dancing has been in the news since two professionals left the show after complaints about their behaviour. It seems the show is keen to show that there are some good characters in it after all.
As excitement mounts for Strictly’s 20th anniversary series, dancer Nadiya Bychkova visited Sister Act, the West End feel-good comedy musical about a singer forced to enroll in a convent.
The 34-year-old Ukrainian posed backstage at the Dominion Theatre with X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, 35, who stars in the hit series.
“I have my sister by my side,” says Nadiya, who reportedly recently split from her boyfriend and Strictly co-star Kai Widdrington.
As excitement builds for Strictly’s 20th anniversary series, dancer Nadiya Bychkova was in attendance for Sister Act, starring Alexandra Burke
Tribute to Anne
Princess Anne’s decision to wear a bucket hat while watching the Olympics in Paris did not impress MasterChef critic William Sitwell.
The baron’s brother sobbed that Anne reflected “our descent into a nation of wretches” by wearing a hat popularised by ‘Madchester’ rockers of the 1990s.
Ian Brown, who promoted the style with his band, The Stone Roses, tells Sitwell online: ‘William, you look like you’ve robbed a 1972 C&A doll.
“You jealous no-mark. Kiss me where the sun don’t shine.”
I’m sure the princess herself couldn’t have said it better!
Princess Anne’s decision to wear a bucket hat while watching the Olympics in Paris did not impress Master Chef critic William Sitwell
New chapter for bookstore
London’s oldest and most venerable bookshop has never seen anything like it.
Last Sunday, Hatchards in Piccadilly hosted the first concert in its 227-year history, featuring a performance by The Bookshop Band, a duo whose fans include writers Margaret Atwood and Philip Pullman.
Their new album was produced by The Who guitarist Pete Townshend at his studio in the country.
Ben Please of The Bookshop Band says: ‘It’s full of the most amazing instruments and synthesizers, even a church organ. We just had a lot of fun.’
Stone causes a stir at auction
Once a men-hater, Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone appeared frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm among bidders at a charity auction during the Olympic Champions’ Gala for Sports for Peace in Paris last weekend.
“I am the queen of fundraising,” she announced at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. “Let’s raise money really fast so we can do more great things for more people.”
To make it even more festive, she took off her gold chain and put it under the hammer, raising €10,000.
“It’s very special to me,” she explained.
Lord’s on Love Island
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, who in 2018 became the first member of the royal family to enter into a same-sex union, felt compelled to deny rumours that his marriage to airline executive James Coyle is on the rocks.
Lord Ivar, 61, a second cousin of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, shared photos online of a ‘short work break’ together, saying: ‘We are very much together and as long as he keeps taking me to places like Bermuda for dates, he’s a keeper!’
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, who in 2018 became the first member of the extended royal family to enter into a same-sex marriage, felt the need to deny rumours that his marriage to airline executive James Coyle is on the rocks