Nowhere to hide as rebel storms last bastion

A late rebellion has failed to prevent Ann Widdecombe from making history by becoming the first woman to be accepted as a full member of the Carlton Club.

Her elevation, predicted in People on June 6, was confirmed, despite some members objecting to her independence from the Conservative frontbench line.

One civil libertarian crossed out his nomination signature, writing “42 days”, after the MP defied her party to side with the Government in the terrorism suspects vote. Another opponent wrote “hunting forever”, over her support for abolition.

A delighted Ms Widdecombe claimed a victory for persistence. She said: “I think it is quite right that I should be the first woman full member because I was the only woman associate member who stayed on when the club would not admit women as full members.”

The St James’s institution, set up by senior Tories in 1832, voted to extend full membership to “ladies” last month. The dress code for women permits trousers, but not denims, and strictly no trainers. There will be no rebellion over this, the new member has promised.

Feisty Naomi Campbell has President Mugabe in her sights, condemning him as a “modern-day Hitler” at the launch of her Africa Rising fashion festival. However, Nelson Mandela has denied the supermodel an appearance at his Hyde Park 90th birthday party after her conviction for assault

Bling King shines at Glasto gig

The Face: Jay-Z

A selection of blinged-up wellies has been ferried to Jay-Z’s London hotel, as the 38-year-old rap star prepares for his controversial headline appearance at Glastonbury on Saturday night.

Boardrooms and boutiques, rather than dairy fields, are the natural milieu for the rapper who has sold 50 million records. Born Shawn Carter, he is expected to bring his new wife, Beyoncé Knowles, to Somerset. Despite feuds with hip-hop rivals, it was Jay-Z’s mic skills and innovative beats that pushed the Brooklyn rapper ahead of “gangsta” rivals. He established a music, club and fashionwear empire, signed a $130 million live concert deal and is said to be interested in buying a stake in Arsenal.

As for the Glasto row, he says: “We have to respect each other’s genre of music and move forward.”

Postscript

— No one was more surprised to read the description of comic Stewart Lee’s forthcoming Edinburgh Festival Fringe show than Lee. “In a town where no one dies,” it read, “a frustrated obituary writer befriends an old woman”. Despite this relating to someone else’s show, chortle.com reports that Lee will perform an extract from it every night.

— Nick Clegg is unfamiliar with Downing Street etiquette. Arriving with a petition for citizenship rights for retired Gurkhas, he inquired of the policeman at No 10: “Knocker or bell?”

— Hollywood giants Tom Hanks and George Clooney are squaring up for industrial action by the Screen Actors Guild. Clooney has given $25,000 to help poor actors to survive any strike, while Hanks’s advert in Variety urges an amicable solution. It would make a cracking movie.

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