01 Sep 2010 00:09:04
Alistair Darling, the man who, if Lord Mandelson is to be believed, Brown once described as his " chancellor", is in talks with Eddie Bell, the literary agent who has secured big advances for a number of political heavyweights. "They got together at the Edinburgh International Book Festival over the weekend and it finished up with Darling passing Bell a piece of paper with his address on it," whispers my bookworm. "I'd be surprised if Bell didn't tie up a deal quite quickly. Darling is one of the three – along with Brown and Jack Straw – to have served in the Cabinet throughout Labour's period in power."
Darling has, up until now, taken a somewhat puritanical view of political memoirs.
After Mandelson's were published (the former business secretary was also represented by Bell) he said there had been quite enough "kiss-and-tells" and sniffed about all the "gory detail."
Andrew Marr's lips are sealed
Andrew Marr is The Man Who Knows Too Much. The BBC journalist was permitted 48 hours to read Tony Blair’s memoirs ahead of their publication to prepare for his interview with the former prime minister which is broadcast tomorrow.
A copy of A Journey was brought to Marr’s north London home amid much security last Tuesday. So, after all the speculation, what does the book actually have to say? “Tony describes Gordon Brown in it as 'the Antichrist’, there’s a story of how he had a terrible row with the Queen after she called his wife 'simply ghastly,’ and he reveals his ambition to one day be Pope,” Marr divulges.
Well, at least, in my dreams he did. Rather boringly, Marr says that he has signed a confidentiality clause which prevents him uttering a word about the book to a single living soul.
“If I said anything, someone would come around and physically cut my arms off,” he explains, nervously. One trusts Marr – who was known at Cambridge at “Red Andy” – will be just as tough on Blair as he was on Brown. Last year he controversially asked the incumbent prime minister if he was a regular user of presciption painkillers.
Darling has, up until now, taken a somewhat puritanical view of political memoirs.
After Mandelson's were published (the former business secretary was also represented by Bell) he said there had been quite enough "kiss-and-tells" and sniffed about all the "gory detail."
Andrew Marr's lips are sealed
Andrew Marr is The Man Who Knows Too Much. The BBC journalist was permitted 48 hours to read Tony Blair’s memoirs ahead of their publication to prepare for his interview with the former prime minister which is broadcast tomorrow.
A copy of A Journey was brought to Marr’s north London home amid much security last Tuesday. So, after all the speculation, what does the book actually have to say? “Tony describes Gordon Brown in it as 'the Antichrist’, there’s a story of how he had a terrible row with the Queen after she called his wife 'simply ghastly,’ and he reveals his ambition to one day be Pope,” Marr divulges.
Well, at least, in my dreams he did. Rather boringly, Marr says that he has signed a confidentiality clause which prevents him uttering a word about the book to a single living soul.
“If I said anything, someone would come around and physically cut my arms off,” he explains, nervously. One trusts Marr – who was known at Cambridge at “Red Andy” – will be just as tough on Blair as he was on Brown. Last year he controversially asked the incumbent prime minister if he was a regular user of presciption painkillers.
