Nicolas Bevan News Today

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: I can disclose that Fia Tarrant, daughter of ursine broadcaster Chris Tarrant, original host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, has just taken her most diverting step to date.

It opened with cherished personal memories of this one-of-a-kind Speaker, whose steely grit and profound political conviction was matched only by her love of gossip over an “industrial strength gin and tonic, or two”.

Betty Boothroyds memorial service was held yesterday at St Margarets, Westminster. No Tony Blair, no John Major, no William Hague, no Gordon Brown. Not a sniff of John Bercow.