The Londoner: Are security cuts at the National Gallery putting visitors at risk?

National Gallery accused of letting guard drop / Politicos' favourite curry spot rings in the changes / Mattel makes a Barbie faux-pas / David Davis on the rare occasions he drinks alone
Under fire: cuts to National Gallery guards have led to serious allegations
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8 October 2018

Cuts to security at The National Gallery are putting visitors at risk in unsupervised areas, a source at the establishment has claimed.

Last month, The Londoner reported that the institution’s security firm — Securitas — had reduced the amount of staff on site. Some were concerned that these cuts, which would leave certain rooms unsupervised, may make artwork vulnerable to attacks (a Gainsborough painting, was damaged in 2016). Now we are told that at least two incidents have occurred at the gallery in recent months, affecting art lovers themselves. “Two cases of sexual assault have taken place in the North Wing of the gallery where security cuts to cover have been made,” the source tells us. “One woman said she was groped by another male visitor in room 16/17 while no guard was present. Another woman was groped in room 24 while no guard was present.”

Following the second alleged assault, security management was approached but, the source claims, did not make any record of the incident. When approached for comment, a representative of the National Gallery stated that “no formal complaint has been made to either the National Gallery or Securitas”. When we gave them the names of the two staff who dealt with the second incident, the same representative reiterated that “no formal complaint” had been received.

Securitas was appointed to the role in 2015, with the gallery noting its “proven track record in security and visitor engagement roles”. But the firm has been criticised for increasing the number of rooms guards must cover. When The Londoner visited last week, we saw guards covering between three and four rooms each. “It has now got to the state where a woman can be groped by a stranger within the gallery”, the source complains.

Keep calm, curry on

Bereft: will Gordon Brown be able to recreate his final meal before becoming PM despite the menu revamp at the Kennington Tandoori? (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Parliament is mourning the loss of its favourite curries. The Kennington Tandoori, beloved by peckish Westminster staff, is ditching the jalfrezis and opting for trendy street food as part of a menu revamp. The restaurant has an impressive legacy: it was David Cameron’s takeaway of choice for his last night in Downing Street, and where Gordon Brown ate his final meal before becoming prime minister. “Some of the most famous dishes have gone. And there are fewer pickles with the poppadoms,” one diner wails to Politico. Much aloo about nothing, surely?

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Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf mocked Theresa May’s dancing as the SNP conference opened in Glasgow this weekend. “I use ‘dance’ very loosely,” he said. “With those moves she isn’t winning Strictly any time soon. Robot Wars maybe, but not Strictly Come Dancing.”

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Evie Gurney, costume designer for Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre, was inspired by Beyoncé when dressing the Egyptian queen, played by Sophie Okonedo. In one scene she wears a yellow ruffled dress reminiscent of Beyoncé in her Hold Up video. It’s been noticed by young audience members. “You see them perk up because it’s speaking directly to them,” Gurney says.

Barbie Doctor suspends our disbelief

Not that kind of Barbie girl... Jodie Whittaker’s storming debut as the new Doctor Who last night has inspired a reinvention of another well-loved blonde icon. Last night Mattel announced the release of an all-new Doctor Who Barbie in honour of the 13th Doctor “with her signature suspenders, lace-up boots and sonic screwdriver”. the brand, of course, forgot to check that “suspenders” means the same in Britain as it does in America. “they’re not called suspenders! they’re called braces!” one fan complained.

SW1A

Ben Bradley, Tory MP for Mansfield, has apologised after trying to recruit a video editor to work for him “on a voluntary basis”. The initial advert on his Facebook page was updated to claim he was “trying to save taxpayers’ money” and insisted “it’s not slavery”. The advert has since been deleted, but quick-acting Labour activists have produced a slick clip of it themselves — complete with operatic music and explosions — mocking his gaffe.

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Chatty: Nick Robinson (left) and David Davis (right) (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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David Davis could be making a lot more money elsewhere. “Every July, when parliament goes down, that Friday I go and sit in my study and pour a glass of whisky,” the former Brexit Secretary tells Nick Robinson’s political Thinking podcast. “I sit there with a notepad and say to myself, ‘Is what I’ve done in the last year’ — I call it my half million test — ‘is it worth not earning half a million a year?’ Four out of five years the answer is yes.”

Quote of the day

‘It was the Conservative Party that set the dogs on to Diane Abbott’

John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, no longer objects to metaphors involving dogs, despite slamming Chuka Umunna last month for using a similar phrase

TV, theatre and film stars gather to celebrate a decade upstairs at the Ivy

Marching on: Matthew Wright and Amanda Barrie (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Dave Benett/Getty Images

Happy Birthday to The Club at The Ivy, which marked 10 years since opening its doors with a party across its three floors on Friday night. Amanda Barrie, the veteran Carry On actress, sipped cocktails with TV host Matthew Wright, who has recently been replaced by Jeremy Vine on his daytime Channel 5 slot. Also at the event were actors Simon Callow and Maureen Lipman, model Betty Bachz, actress Charlotte Carroll, TV producer Ash Atalla and historian Suzannah Lipscomb.

The intimate members’ club, found above the famous West End restaurant on West Street, has played host to an army of celebrities over the years, including Nicole Kidman, Rolling Stones Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, fashion designer Tom Ford and Sting. Sam Smith, Jamie Cullum and Laura Mvula could all be found at the piano before they hit the big time.

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