For four days during the war, it held Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess and – just over a decade later – psychopathic twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
But the Tower of London, home to the Crown Jewels and scene of innumerable executions, is now adding another page or two to its infamies – albeit, on this occasion, unwittingly.
For I can disclose that a charitable event that the Tower has hosted for many years – raising thousands of pounds for the Red Cross in the process – has fallen victim to political correctness.
Formerly known as ‘Jailed & Bailed’, but now prosaically renamed ‘Escape From The Tower’, the event is philanthropy with a pantomime flourish.
It sees – or used to see – Masters of various City of London livery companies ‘arrested’ by the City of London Police, taken to the Tower and, as one of livery company notes, ‘“tortured” with sponsored champagne and a splendid lunch’ until their fellow liverymen and women secure their release by raising a ‘bail payment’, often amounting to tens of thousands of pounds, with every penny going to the Red Cross.
But this year the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers was told by the Red Cross that ‘they couldn’t take part because they represented an “unethical” industry’, explains an eminent liveryman, adding that at least one other livery company was placed on a blacklist because of ‘links with the defence industry’.
An event at the Tower of London that was formerly known as ‘Jailed & Bailed’ has now been renamed ‘Escape From The Tower’
Red Cross CEO Beatrice Butsana-Sita, right, had to clarify matters and expressed being ‘deeply grateful for the livery companies’ long-standing support’
I understand that this was the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers – one of the oldest livery companies, founded in 1637. ‘They actually test the guns that the police use,’ an appalled liveryman tells me.
The Red Cross, headed by Beatrice Butsana-Sita since 2023, seemingly exacerbated matters by sending out ‘a sort of clarifying note’, stating that, while ‘deeply grateful for the livery companies’ long-standing support’, it was aware of ‘a very small number of livery companies with direct public association with, or funding from, our excluded industries’.
This couldn’t have gone down worse. ‘Pretty much all of the Masters have said, “Well, if you’re not willing to accept Masters of other companies, we’re not going to take part”,’ says a liveryman from one of the companies which, collectively, give some £81million a year to charities.
‘Previously, there’s been a lot of support for the Red Cross. But, no pun intended, they’ve really shot themselves in the foot.’
The Red Cross assures me that it ‘greatly values the long-standing partnership and generosity of London’s livery companies’, adding: ‘We do not accept donations from a very small number of specific industries.
‘We are speaking directly with livery companies to provide clarification, answer questions and reaffirm how much we value their continued support.’
What will ‘porn addict’ Ore think of his ex’s jokey sex worker snap?
Portia Jett, the ex-wife of TV presenter Ore Oduba, is seen in the red light district of Amsterdam while on a trip with Joshua Saxon
Portia was married to Ore Oduba until 2024, who has spoken about his pornography addiction
Strictly winner Ore Oduba has spoken tearfully about his addiction to pornography and become a vocal critic of the sex industry.
So the TV star, 40, may be unamused by a photograph that his estranged wife, Portia Jett, posted online.
Portia, 36, who has two young children with Ore, is pictured smiling and posing on a stool at the Museum of Prostitution in Amsterdam.
She was imitating the female sex workers who can be seen touting for business from behind windows in the city’s red-light district. Her boyfriend, the businessman Joshua Saxon, 37, who accompanied her to the Netherlands, joked in a caption: ‘Ain’t cheap this one.’
Ore, whose nine-year marriage to Portia collapsed in 2024, said of his addiction: ‘The reason that I felt like I needed to speak about this is because I wanted to be able to guide my own children when it comes to it, when it comes to them seeing stuff that is going to be there. They’re going to come across it in life, so many of life’s pitfalls, whether it’s drink, drugs, money.’
Coronets aloft! After having two daughters, the Marchioness of Blandford has given birth to a son and heir.
Camilla, 39, and her husband, the Marquess, George Spencer-Churchill, 34, have named their baby Orlando Charles Godolphin.
Orlando is in line to inherit Blenheim Palace and its 12,000-acre Oxfordshire estate one day, ahead of his elder sisters, Lady Olympia, five, and Lady Leonora, two.
A friend of George, whose father is the Duke of Marlborough, tells me that he would have been ‘very philosophical’ if Camilla had had another girl.
But perhaps the couple allowed themselves an extended celebration – which might explain why they delayed announcing Orlando’s birth until yesterday, some 14 weeks after his birth.
Moss agency sees bottom line shrink
Kate Moss attending the 2026 Met Gala, which celebrated Costume Art, at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
Kate Moss has graced the catwalk and been queen of the photoshoot for 38 years, but her star power could be in decline.
Newly published accounts for the Kate Moss Agency, which she founded in 2014, disclose a seven-figure downturn in its fortunes.
The model agency – which represents Kate, 52, and her daughter Lila, 23, among others – made its first ever loss. Its bottom line shrunk by £1.8million over the year to last July. Retained earnings fell to £3.3million from £5.1million – the equivalent of a £35,000-per-week loss. The net worth of the business, which peaked at £5.1million in 2024, previously increased annually. A source said Kate (right) set it up ‘because she was sick of paying huge commission to model agents’.
Oasis star Noel Gallagher admits his surprising taste in music leaves friends appalled.
‘I’m a huge fan of the Pet Shop Boys, which people are disgusted by,’ the rocker says of the camp synth-pop duo. ‘I was at Glastonbury, as the entire festival is walking one way to go and see Kendrick Lamar, I’m going the other way to see the Pet Shop Boys. I dragged a few people with me, and I was like, “Just be amazed at how many hits you’re going to hear”.’
The smart set’s talking about… A wedding date for Fiennes romance
Broughton Castle in Banbury, Oxfordshire, is owned by Martin Fiennes, the 22nd Lord Saye and Sele, and his family
Television producer Melanie Fall is set to marry Martin Fiennes, the 22nd Baron Saye and Sele, in September
His father, who died in 2024 aged 103, trimmed the family name from three barrels – Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes – to one, but in every other way Martin Fiennes’s inheritance remained undiminished.
Aside from a title – he’s the 22nd Lord Saye and Sele – he’s also king of Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, which has been in the family since 1447. And next month, I can disclose, he’ll be joined by his new queen – acclaimed television producer Melanie Fall. The couple resist talking about their September wedding, but a friend tells me: ‘It’s wonderful that they met.’
Fiennes, 65, whose kinsmen include actors Ralph and Joseph and explorer Sir Ranulph, has three adult sons by ex-wife Pauline Kang Chai Lian. For Mel, 58, it’s a first marriage, even though she, like twin sister Kate, ‘gatekeeper’ to David Cameron while he was PM, has attracted numerous admirers.
Phineas turns a page with new love Michaela
Franco Manca pizza heir Phineas Page was married Sabrina Percy for four years after their 2021 ceremony at Chelsea Old Church
Michaela Wrede, 33, is now said to be going out with Phineas as the two enjoyed a romantic getaway to Crete last week
Less than a year after the collapse of his marriage to society model and artist Sabrina Percy, the heir to the Franco Manca pizza fortune is cooking up a new romance.
I hear that businessman Phineas Page, 43, who was married to Sabrina, 36, for four years, is now going out with luxury lifestyle PR director Michaela Wrede, 33, right.
And things appear to be heating up fast. The couple enjoyed a romantic getaway to Crete last week, staying in a private villa overlooking the Mediterranean.
‘It’s early days, but it’s going very well,’ a friend tells me. ‘Micki is a great girl. He’s very lucky.’
(Very) modern manners
Calvin Harris has launched his own Rave Haggis in celebration of his DJ shows in Glasgow
Usually enjoyed on Burns Night as the poetry of Robert Burns is declaimed, haggis has been given a contemporary flavour.
DJ Calvin Harris, right, has created his own version of the Scottish delicacy to celebrate his shows in Glasgow this weekend.
Called ‘Rave Haggis’, its packaging declares: ‘Heat, eat, rave, repeat.’ Dumfries-born Calvin, 42, who’s married to TV and radio presenter Vick Hope, 36, says he’s ‘buzzing’ to launch the ‘premium’ product, priced at £12.95.
His wife warns: ‘It’s all fun and games ’til you get knocked out by a tin of your own haggis hoyed at the stage at your own gig.’
JK Rowling politely turned down the offer of a peerage for her stance on gender from Kemi Badenoch – but the Tory leader hasn’t given up on wooing the Harry Potter author.
‘The Conservative Party is the Professor Snape of politics,’ Kemi purrs. ‘We’re trying to do the right thing. People think we’re the bad guys, but without us everything would go horribly wrong and in the end they will see that.’
Would former Labour donor Rowling agree? ‘I don’t think she’s as Labour as she used to be. She and I do agree very much on some subjects… I want the Conservative Party to appeal to people who are not conservative,’ Badenoch says in her best come-hither voice on Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast.
