After Sir Keir Starmer appointed him Foreign Secretary, David Lammy declared: ‘I’ve been underestimated all of my life.’
However, I learn that the world’s best-used online encyclopaedia incorrectly claimed for a period that he had a first-class degree.
According to SOAS, University of London, Lammy graduated in law in 1993 with a second-class degree.
After a career in the legal profession, he was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 2000 and was soon appointed by Tony Blair as a health minister.
When Gordon Brown became prime minister, he handed Lammy the role of universities minister.
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
During five days in 2010, the year that Labour lost the general election, nearly 20 separate edits were made to Lammy’s Wikipedia page, with material added that flattered him.
A moderator on the website battled against the changes, stating that the ‘page needs protecting’.
The moderator added: ‘I suspect the edits may be coming from the Lammy office or a ‘Close Supporter’. ‘
The edits could be traced to two sources: a user called ‘Brownsymeon’, who only ever 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
While order was eventually restored to the page, the claim that Lammy achieved a First remained for seven years.
A Foreign Office spokesman declines to comment.
However, Lammy, 52, could be forgiven for being sensitive about his intellect.
His appearance on Celebrity Mastermind in 2008 led to much ridicule after he finished last on the BBC television quiz show with only 13 points.
The minister failed to identify the highest tier of theatre seating as ‘the gods’ and suggested that the cheese often eaten with port was red Leicester rather than Stilton.
His tour de force was, however, his assertion that the monarch who succeeded Henry VIII was ‘Henry VII’.
GQ’s Testino cover capers
Mario Testino, who shot several of the most celebrated pictures of Princess Diana, was dropped 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 denied the claims but is bound to think ex GQ editor Dylan Jones is adding insult to injury by bizarrely now claiming the magazine deliberately undersold the 2011 edition of GQ in which Testino was a cover star.
‘We were celebrating a particular world-famous photographer,’ Jones says.
‘He demanded that he wanted to be on the cover; we didn’t want to put him on the cover.’
He adds: ‘We did the smallest run possible with this person on the cover and we knew where they lived so we just put [the copies] in Notting Hill and Holland Park, so if he went to the WHSmith he would see himself on the front . . . I can tell you what Mario Testino thought of that.’
Mario Testino was dropped by Conde Nast after he was accused of misconduct, including sexual assault, by 13 male models and assistants
Proposal for Royal Ballet star
Royal Ballet star Francesca Hayward danced with joy after her fellow dancer, Cesar Corrales, proposed to her at the weekend.
The prima ballerina, 32, was on holiday in Spain with Corrales, 27, when he got down on bended knee on the beach at Barcelona.
‘I said yes (of course),’ confirms Francesca.
Royal Ballet star Francesca Hayward danced with joy after her fellow dancer, Cesar Corrales, proposed to her at the weekend
The prima ballerina, 32, was on holiday in Spain with Corrales, 27, when he got down on bended knee on the beach at Barcelona
Nadiya’s proof Strictly has good habits!
Immersed in controversy after two of its professionals left the show following complaints about their behaviour, Strictly Come Dancing appears to be keen to show it does have some wholesome characters.
As anticipation mounts ahead of Strictly’s 20th anniversary series, dancer Nadiya Bychkova attended Sister Act, the West End feel-good comedy musical about a singer forced to join a convent.
The Ukrainian, 34, posed backstage at the Dominion Theatre with Alexandra Burke, 35, The X-Factor winner, who performs the leading role in the hit show.
‘I’ve got my sister by my side,’ says Nadiya, who reportedly split up recently with her boyfriend, fellow Strictly pro Kai Widdrington.
As anticipation mounts ahead of Strictly’s 20th anniversary series, dancer Nadiya Bychkova attended Sister Act, starring Alexandra Burke
Hats off to Anne
Princess Anne’s decision to wear a bucket hat while watching the Paris Olympics failed to impress MasterChef critic William Sitwell.
The baronet’s brother sniffily claimed Anne reflected ‘our descent into a nation of slobs’ by wearing a hat favoured 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 robbed a C&A mannequin from 1972.
‘You jealous no-mark. Kiss me where the sun don’t shine.’
I’m sure the princess couldn’t have put it better herself!
Princess Anne’s decision to wear a bucket hat while watching the Paris Olympics failed to impress Master Chef critic William Sitwel
New chapter for book shop
London’s oldest and most venerable bookshop has never seen anything like it.
On Sunday, Hatchards in Piccadilly hosted the first concert in its 227-year history with a performance by The Bookshop Band, a duo whose fans include authors Margaret Atwood and Philip Pullman.
Their new album was produced by The Who guitarist Pete Townshend at his studio in the country.
The Bookshop Band’s Ben Please says: ‘It’s lined with the most extraordinary instruments and synthesisers, even a church organ. We just had a lot of fun.’
Stone stirs up the auction
She once held men spellbound, but Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone appeared to become frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm among bidders at a charity auction at the Olympic Champions Gala for Sports for Peace in Paris at the weekend.
‘I’m the queen of raising money,’ she announced at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. ‘Let’s raise money really quickly so we can do more great things for more people.’
To add a bit of va-va-voom, she took off her gold necklace 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 became the first member of the extended Royal Family to enter into a same-sex union in 2018, has felt the need to deny rumours his marriage to James Coyle, an air cabin services director, has hit the rocks.
Sharing photos online from a ‘mini work break’ together, Lord Ivar, 61, a great-nephew of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, says: ‘We’re very much together, and as long as he keeps bringing me to places like Bermuda for date nights he will continue to be a keeper!’
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, who became the first member of the extended Royal Family to enter into a same-sex union in 2018, has felt the need to deny rumours his marriage to James Coyle, an air cabin services director, has hit the rocks
