EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Might prison work for the thieves who stole Lord Howard’s car?

When he was Home Secretary, Michael Howard was known for his tough stance on crime, declaring memorably that ‘prison works’.

Now, the Conservative peer has a personal reason to lament the state of London, with some claiming the capital has turned into a ‘Wild West’ under Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.

I hear that Lord Howard and his wife, the Vogue model turned best-selling author Sandra, had their car, with its precious contents, stolen while they popped into a friend’s party in Mayfair the other day.

‘Our car was stolen, with everything in it,’ Lady Howard confirms. ‘Clothes, handbag, laptops, work files, two freezer bags full of a long-weekend’s worth of food — which I rather hope had all gone off by the time the thieves got to open the bags.’

Her husband says one of the items that was stolen was the manuscript of her latest novel.

Lord Howard and his wife had their car, with its precious contents, stolen while they popped into a friend’s party in Mayfair

The former Home Secretary and Vogue model turned best-selling author Sandra, hope the car and its contents are recovered before Christmas

Some claim the capital has turned into a ‘Wild West’ under Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan

‘My wife’s manuscript was on there. Luckily, she had it saved onto a Cloud, so she hasn’t lost the work. But she also lost her purse and all her credit cards. She was pretty miserable about it.’

Lord Howard, 82, adds of the ‘strangely dislocating’ experience of losing their much-used vehicle: ‘It was a seven-year-old Toyota Prius, so I can’t understand why anyone would want to steal it.

‘We were on our way down to Kent, but we popped in to wish a friend ‘happy birthday’ in the West End.’

The couple hope the car and its contents are recovered before Christmas. Last year, Sandra, 83, was forced to spend some of the festive season in hospital after she fractured her hip in a fall. ‘Languishing in a hospital bed,’ she told friends then. ‘Not much fun.’

Her son, Sholto Douglas-Home, explained: ‘She took a tumble and fractured a bone just before Christmas. She was with the family for Christmas, but it seemed not to be getting better, hence needing to get it properly looked at.’

Princess’s pals prove blondes have more fun!

You don’t need to be blonde to be one of Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark’s close friends…but it appears to help.

Princess’s pals prove blondes have more fun (Pictured from left to right: Alexia Mavroleon, 26, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 27,  Ella Richards, 27, Lady Lola Crichton- Stuart, 24 and make-up specialist India Excell)

It’s hard to single out King Charles’s 27-year-old goddaughter in this photograph shared by her chum Lady Lola Crichton- Stuart, 24, whose father was the late Marquess of Bute, better known as motor racing driver Johnny Dumfries.

Joining them is the granddaughter of rock ‘aristocracy’ Ella Richards, 27. The model’s grandfather is Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Completing the line-up is artist Alexia Mavroleon, 26, and make-up specialist India Excell.

F1 Petra’s message for mums

Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone has urged mothers not to ignore their maternal intuition — after multiple doctors dismissed her son’s cries of pain.

The daughter of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone reveals one of her eight-year-old twin sons had been suffering for a month but, despite scans, no doctor could find out what was wrong with him.

Petra, who lives in Los Angeles with her second husband, Sam Palmer, explains: ‘A month later, the pain persisted. I decided to take him to the emergency room as the pain got worse.

‘They performed more tests and realised his appendix was enlarged. He is now recovering at home.

‘Never give up on your mother’s gut feeling.’

Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone has urged mothers not to ignore their maternal intuition — after multiple doctors dismissed her son’s cries of pain

Comedian Jason Manford’s attempts to teach his five-year-old son good manners seem to have backfired. ‘I was at a local restaurant,’ says Cheshire-based Manford. ‘We’d been waiting quite a bit of time. When it eventually arrived, the waiter put the food on the table and I said to my son, ‘What do you say?’ He looked at his plate, looked at the waiter, and said, ‘Finally.’

Channel 4 shelled out more than £25,000 on business expenses for its chief executive in just five months, including more than £1,600 a night on hotels — despite cutting costs and cancelling shows. I hear Alex Mahon’s expenses for the period to the end of September totalled £26,855, including £6,825 on business-class flights. The figures come via a Freedom of Information request. A spokesman for the broadcaster says: ‘It is standard practice for employees to have costs covered by expenses. Channel 4 receives no public funding.’

Channel 4 shelled out more than £25,000 on business expenses for its chief executive in just five months

Young royal calls for Gaza ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer is still reeling from last week’s rebellion, in which eight shadow ministers quit over his anti-ceasefire stance in Gaza. But the Labour rebels appear to have found an unlikely ally in a member of the Royal Family.

The 28-year-old granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, shared an online post with the hashtag #CeasefireNow

Lady Amelia Windsor, 28, granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, has shared an online post with the hashtag #CeasefireNow. It declares, ‘Civilians are not a target, Schools are not a target and Refugee camps are not a target’, alluding to claims that Israel has targeted civilian infrastructure.

Pop star Paloma Faith gave her fans a very modern, seven-point ‘break-up survival guide’ after the collapse of her relationship with French artist Leyman Lahcine, as I reported on Saturday. However, the couple, who have two children, were not husband and wife. ‘Paloma was never married to Leyman,’ a close friend discloses. The singer, 42, said she had paid for a billboard at the end of Lahcine’s road to be plastered with her image, explaining: ‘So I hope that he looked at me every day and was, like, ‘s***.’ ‘

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