In the wake of ‘The Sunday Times’ expose of Nigel Farage’s curious connections with convicted criminal George Cottrell, Matthew Steeples highlights an equally curious crony of theirs, Twitter trolling twerp (‘Ian’) Mowbray Jackson
Like or loathe this definite disruptor, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP can now be deservedly branded a hypocrite of the first order.
Prone to slamming political opponents such as ‘Raving Rayner’ Angela Rayner for awkward antics concerning her second home and making a mockery of Sir Keir Starmer over being made a spectacle of concerning Lord Alli and Specsavers, Farage has not only been lambasted for taking a “personal gift” of £5 million from a Thai based tycoon, Christopher Harborne, in recent days, but was well and truly roasted yesterday in a ravaging set of revelations in The Sunday Times.
Whilst the focus of crusading journalist Gabriel Pogrund and his team was on 62-year-old Farage failing to declare being given use of a £4 million Westminster townhouse and countless other benefits by convicted criminal 32-year-old ‘Posh George’ Cottrell (who previously “legally changed his name from ‘Cottrell’ to ‘Cotrel’”), a throwaway paragraph brought in analysis of the involvement a longstanding sworn self-declared enemy of The Steeple Times, a rather tedious Twitter troll who used to go by the name of Mowbray Jackson.
Today, we delve into the details of 59-year-old Jackson (whom fascinatingly now opts for the Christian name of ‘Ian’ on Companies House for records concerning his latest venture, Fispay Ltd), Farage and Cottrell and the links between them their ‘high society’ chums. Be prepared to join the dots between a cretinous collection that jumps from left to right with Adam Boulton, Hugh Grant and Emily Maitlis to one side and Arron Banks, Baroness Meyer and Raheem Kassam to the other.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at @mjs2781 or become a member even.
If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.
Buy Matthew Steeples a tea (or better a gin) via Ko-fi.
The lavish life of (‘Ian’) Mowbray Jackson… The missing link with multiple names between Nigel Farage and George Cottrell
Friends with definite benefits “No Delay – Simples” – Nigel Farage and George Cottrell with (‘Ian’) Mowbray Jackson lurking behind them in a pair of sunglasses attempting to pull a Tom Cruise-esque look during a ‘Respect the Referendum’ protest. This is a mutually beneficial ‘friendship’ that clearly runs deep.Bombastic businessman Arron Banks, a major supporter of Nigel Farage and Leave.EU, gave evidence before a parliamentary select committee in June 2018. A particularly plump Mowbray Jackson – at one time a data protection officer for Reform UK – was snapped lounging like a lizard behind him.‘Ian’ or ‘Mowbray’ (depending on what day of the week it is) Jackson with George Cottrell and Georgia Toffolo at the long since shuttered Motcombs restaurant in Belgravia, SW1 circa May 2022. Cottrell dated the ‘Made In Chelsea’ and 2017 ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ winner from 2019 to 2023 and subsequently married the equally controversial BrewDog co-founder James Watt in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on 1st March 2025. Blundell’s Schoolm educated ‘Toff’ happens also to be a longstanding bosom chum of Boris Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson.On Sunday 5th July 2026, crusading journalist Gabriel Pogrund and his stellar investigative team at ‘The Sunday Times’ published an immensely thorough into the relationship between Nigel Farage and George Cottrell. In it, details of Mowbray Jackson’s alleged involvement was revealed. The paper stated: “One of the companies is owned by Mowbray Jackson, a Reform employee who serves as the party’s data protection officer… Cottrell denied he was heavily involved in the crypto-gambling platform [Tether.bet]. Jackson and Robery declined to comment. A source close to Jackson said he would need to obtain legal advice.”In yesterday’s investigation, “difficult to pin down” George Cottrell was himself highlighted for calling Nigel Farage ‘Daddy’; this was understandably widely mocked on social media. Cottrell was arrested whilst in the company of Nigel Farage at Chicago O’Hare International airport on 22nd July 2016 and federally indicted on 21 counts for conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, blackmail and extortion. After a plea deal in December 2016 and a guilty plea on one count of wire fraud, he was sentenced sentenced and released by Judge Diane Humetewa after having served 8 months in prison.‘The Finance Guy’ – @OneFinanceGuy on X – has been digging into the ‘interesting’ relationship between ‘daddy’ Nigel Farage and ‘son’ George Cottrell and their associates for many a month. In one post yesterday, 5th July 2026, on the platform he shared a video clip of the latter on a yacht in Montenegro with amongst others Mowbray Jackson and former gambling director and Attorney General of Arizona Mark Brnovich. On 12th January 2026, Brnovich, at one point was nominated (subsequently withdrawn) by Donald Trump to be the ambassador of the United States to Serbia, died at his home in Phoenix aged just 59 after suffering a heart attack.Raheem Kassam with George Cottrell with Mowbray Jackson tailing on their coattails in Parliament Square, SW1A. Kassam has various been worked in finance at Lehman Brothers, at ‘Breitbart’ and ‘The National Pulse’ and been involved in the Henry Jackson Society, UKIP and Reform. In July 2019, the Australian Labor Party called for Kassam to be banned from entering their country and on Wikipedia he is referenced as being “described as far right” given his involvement in a 2018 ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ rally in London.Mowbray Jackson was part of the organising committee for an event Chanel clad charity tin banger Catherine Meyer (now The Right Honourable The Baroness Meyer CBE of Nine Elms in the London Borough of Wandsworth) – a finger wagging woman suspended from the House of Lords for 3 weeks in December 2024 for calling a fellow peer “Lord Poppadom” and touching the hair of black MP Bellavilla Riberio-Addy without her permission – organised courtesy of her mate and then Home Secretary The Right Honourable Theresa May hosted at Downing Street on 23rd May 2012. Others hobnobbing with Cathy Meyer whilst hitting the hooch included the since croaked chippy-not-chirpy ex-ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer, property tycoon turned Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy and his then wife ex-‘Neighbours’ actress Holly Valance, former BBC presenter Sue Lawley OBE, advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell, meddling mouthpiece Clarence Mitchell and the parents of ‘missing’ Madeleine McCann, Gerry and Kate McCann.Social climbing arselicker Mowbray Jackson most definitely celebrates hanging around with what some might turn ‘the great and the good’; pictured from left to right with Petronella Wyatt, daughter of politician and journalist Lord (Woodrow) Wyatt and ex-lover of Boris Johnson, former Sky News anchor Adam Boulton and actor turned Hacked Off press hater Hugh Grant. Jackson’s ‘friendship’ with the Love Actually star is worthy of mention given the latter’s noted involvement campaigning against Brexit and the former’s decided rabid enthusiasm for it. Whether Jackson and Grant still get sloshed together at Brinkley’s in Hollywood Road, SW10 – as they did for many a year – is unknown.Banal braggart Mowbray Jackson has banged-on about his friendship with the rather left-wing television presenter Emily Maitlis – best known for her 2020 ‘Newsnight’ interview that was the catalyst for the downfall of the then Prince Andrew over his relationships with Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell – to anyone willing to listen for many, many years. His union with Canadian born and Queen’s College, Cambridge educated Maitlis is curious given her known enthusiasm for amongst others the Labour peer and alleged traitor Lord Mandelson.Anything-but-camera-shy show-off Mowbray Jackson has been snapped with ‘actress’ Elizabeth Hurley on occasions also. Hurley, of course, forms part of Hugh Grant’s entourage of press haters, Hacked Off, along with amongst others the dim-witted drippy dunce Prince Harry, ‘Saint Doreen’ Baroness Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his titleless husband David Furnish, ‘actress’ Sadie Frost and ex-MP Simon Hughes. A judgment is due in the case brought by this tedious collection of twerps in their case against Associated Newspapers, publishers of the ‘Daily Mail’ and ‘Mail on Sunday’, on Tuesday 7th July 2026.In times past, prior to getting deeply embedded with Reform UK, Jackson was a political agent for UKIP and was snapped in a purple rosette whilst working on journalist William Cash’s failed campaign to get elected for North Warwickshire in Coleshill, Warwickshire in the 2015 General Election.‘Ian’ Mowbray Jackson appears to have deleted his account on Twitter, formerly X, in the wake of ‘The Sunday Times’ expose having first joined the platform in February 2009. His tweets mostly numbered toady responses to society wannabes who’d hosted him at parties and trolling those he loathed – including mostly Matthew Steeples and the likes of anti-Brexit campaigning financier Gina Miller.His @mowbrayjackson account was suspended on occasions given his propensity for abusive tweeting. Perhaps, now, this tedious Twitter troll would simply do best to decide what his actual Christian name is and learn the art of silence.
‘Heretics’ interview by Andrew Gold with Matthew Steeples about sexual allegations against convicted criminal David Sullivan featuring scandalous stories about West Ham FC, Karren Brady and Ampika Pickston goes viral; watched over 207,000 times in just three days
On Thursday evening an interview by Andrew Gold premiered on the Heretics YouTube channel at 6pm. By 9pm on Saturday evening, this 39-minute programme had been watched by well over 150,000 people and by Monday morning at 10am, it had attracted some 207,000 views; that’s more viewers than many a mainstream media show.
Featuring the sordid and sleazy story of David Sullivan – the clearly not a ‘fit and proper person’ to be in charge of a football club at the very least given he hadn’t been allowed near women and youth games in years – this show delved into the history of a brash and brazen bullying billionaire whose tenure at both Birmingham FC and West Ham FC never ran smoothly.
More importantly, Gold and Steeples delved into the recent allegations of sexual impropriety that Sullivan has been able to keep under the carpet for years and took a serious look at another pair of pantomime villains in this piece – David Sullivan’s gobby unfit-to-run-a-care-home wife-to-be Ampika Pickston and the David Cameron appointed to the House of Lords “associate of the dildo floggers” Karren Brady.
Watch the 39-minute programme here; it certainly pulls no punches. Do you believe David Sullivan to be delusional and dreadful or do you think he’s fallen foul of what he labels “false allegations”?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at @mjs2781 or become a member even.
If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.
Buy Matthew Steeples a tea (or better a gin) via Ko-fi.
What a repugnant specimen – David Sullivan; a diminutive dwarf and convicted criminal (1982) and coffin dodger.Mouthy Poundland muckspreader Lady Brady with another of her deservedly loathed job destroying mates Sir Philip Green. Karren Brady has been associated with David Gold for at least four decades and also worked for Sir Philip at his company Arcadia. Birds of a rotten feather.Karren Brady has no place in the House of Lords. Shame on David Cameron for putting her there alongside the PPE profiteer Michelle Mone also. Disgraceful.Brady with West Ham co-owner David Sullivan in 1993. Mr Sullivan was mocked by fans in September 2017 when they bounced a giant inflatable sex toy around a stadium during a game against Huddersfield.The aforementioned inflatable.Mouthy menace Ampika Pickston was declared by Ofsted to “not have the skills and experience to run” AP Care Homes in 2023; she no doubt took to a bathtub and drank her stupid self silly.
In his own words… Self-declared “King of Porn” David Sullivan on…
His diminutive stature…
“I’m short, so I have the ‘hightism’ thing against me, which hurts… I was born short. I wish I had been like Brad Pitt, but I am what I am. I may not be black, I may not be Jewish, but I’m little… Perhaps I would prefer to be a black Jewish man than a small white man. So, I get ‘hightism’ remarks against me. You’ve just got to take it on the chin. It’s not very nice.”
His claim that he’s a “moral man” during an interview in 2000…
“We all live our lives by our own standards and what we believe to be right and what we believe to be wrong and by my rules, I lead my life. I’ve never taken a drug in my life, I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life… Erm, it’s pretty unusual in this day and age… I don’t think what I do is particularly bad.”
The type of women he ‘goes for’…
“I like ginger women, actually. I like redheads.”
Sexual assault allegations against him…
“After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.”
A 1989 newspaper interview, when asked about his sexual desires…
“I can have up to three a day but some days I don’t have any – it depends how I feel and what else is happening… I have a desire to make love to most women.”
What he got ‘upto’ with women…
“What’s the point of owning a sweet shop if you can’t eat a few sweets?”
Responding to claims in 2008 that he sexually assaulted a 25-year-old at his Essex mansion…
“I’m a rich person so I’m a target for this sort of thing. That is the world we live in.”
Being a pornographer…
“I’ve made a lot of people happy. If I was an arms manufacturer or a cigarette manufacturer, and my products killed millions of my clients, I’d have a bit of doubt about the whole thing. I was a freedom fighter. I believe in the right of adults to make their own decisions.”
What was in his smutty books, newspapers and magazines…
“We feature fantasy and fun… We feature ladies in glamorous situations looking their best… All our stories, our books, are really the adult equivalent of comics that for the average factory worker in Wigan or the unemployed non-worker in Liverpool, they actually get a lot of fun out of reading our books and I think we do no harm whatsoever. We just put a bit of fun into peoples’ lives.”
His desire to leave the porn business after his 1982 criminal conviction for living off immoral earnings…
“I’d like to get out personally purely because I’ve done it for eleven years and in life if you do anything for eleven years, you feel like a change.”
Why he was going to sell his shares in Birmingham FC in 2007…
“I think deep down the public have had enough of us… Everybody says I should call it a day and ‘What do you need all that grief for?’”
His ownership of West Ham in a 2017 interview with The Guardian…
“I feel like I haven’t done well enough. Nobody’s done well enough. I work my socks off but sometimes it’s not good enough.”
The woman he made managing director of Birmingham FC aged just 23 and then had working with him for four decades in football…
“Karren is a good businesswoman but she doesn’t understand football.”
Giving a loan of £1 million to “crime boss” David Hunt to aid a libel action against The Sunday Times…
“[Just a] normal commercial transaction.”
Of the style of business of him and cronies during a 2017 interview with The Guardian…
“I think we’re the most honest, open people you’ll ever deal with… We’re not liars.”
Football agents and negotiating with them…
“Giving in to terrorists or kidnappers. If you pay the ransom, they will only come back for more.”
His crony Karren Brady having a column in The Sun…
“If I stop her doing it, the club would have to give her the money. And it’s a substantial amount of money, so I prefer for her to do it and the club not to give her the money… I’m confident Karren will write anything detrimental.”
His clearly delusional self:
“I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.”
In her own words… “Overpainted Aunt Sally” Karren Brady on…
“At 23, I had skin as thick as a rhino… I don’t have any fears.”
“I dare to put my head above the parapet, to have a mind and a voice of my own and to plough my own furrow.”
“[I am now] one of the most highly sought-after motivational speakers in the world.”
“I look like a demented Rapunzel.”
More modest than the late Mother Theresa, one is simply left asking: “What on earth was it about the very wealthy woman Karren Brady that David Cameron saw fit to elevate her to the House of Lords?”
Sunday 21st June 2026 – 10.30am for prompt 11am departure
Matthew Steeples will be your guide as you explore some of London’s most storied neighbourhoods. Whilst the addresses we’ll visit may seem to be ritzy superficially, you’ll learn of the darker events that have occurred in SW1 and SW3 alongside some jollier details too. Aside from buildings connected to Ghislaine Maxwell and Lord Lucan, you will hear the story of a high society ‘Bright Young Thing’ who got away with murder and a Bakelite plastics heir who ultimately didn’t; this will be a thought provoking tour where there’ll also be plenty of opportunity for questions and conversation.
Duration:
2 to 2.5 hours including one stop at a halfway point for brief refreshments and use of facilities, if participants feel the need for such.
Details:
Starting point – Belgravia, SW1X; nearest underground stations are Knightsbridge and Sloane Square.
The exact meeting point will be confirmed after your booking has been made.
Finishing point – Chelsea, SW3.
Participants will be welcome to join for drinks at the end of the walk (at their own expense).
Participants should be over 18 years of age to enjoy the experience to the full and are advised to wear suitable attire for walking in Central London.
Booking:
To book your tickets, please click the following link to pay £30 per person attending:
Alternatively, pay £30 per person via bank transfer to:
Account name: Longreach Publishing Limited
Bank: Monzo Bank Limited
Sort code: 04-00-06
Account number: 90607601
Once you have booked, please email editorial@thesteepletimes.com to confirm your booking. Bookings will be accepted on a first come, first served basis; places on the tour are limited.
Please note that all food and drink is to be purchased at your own expense and that though tickets are non-refundable, they are transferable.
Sophie from Southwark, London – Endorsement of previous tour:
“The tour was both enjoyable and fascinating, with Matthew pointing out both well-known and not-so-well-known crimes. I’ve done a few walking tours here and there and this one was the best – Matthew really knows the history and the who’s who of the area. I highly recommend the tour for both information and general entertainment value.”
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at @mjs2781 or become a member even.
If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.
Buy Matthew Steeples a tea (or better a gin) via Ko-fi.
EXCLUSIVE – Matthew Steeples shares that “now is the time to drink” as Claude Bosi and Bibendum return to Brompton Cross in Chelsea in July after having been closed for a year
On Sunday 31st August last year, the acclaimed French chef Claude Bosi “permanently” closed his Bibendum and associated Oyster Bar restaurants on Brompton Cross citing that “despite our very best efforts, we were unable to reach a resolution with our partners and landlords that would allow Michelin House to move into its next chapter.” Bosi had run the restaurant since 2017 and had been preceded by Simon Hopkinson from 1987 until 1994.
Going further, in an interview for JancisRobinson.com a month later, Bosi cryptically commented: “The situation is complicated because the lease is held by members of the Conran and Hamlyn families and I do not want to jeopardise anything or antagonise anybody.”
Named after Michelin’s portly mascot ‘Monsieur Bibendum’ who, in turn, took his name from the latin phrase Nunc est Bibendum – “Now is the Time to Drink” – The Steeple Times can now exclusively reveal that the Bibendum restaurant will reopen with Claude Bosi at the helm in July.
Two Michelin starred Claude Bosi and his representatives were approached for comment, but had not replied by the time of publication. Meanwhile, the adjoining 31,750 square foot former Conran store remains shuttered and to let through agents Colliers. Whilst the rental figure for the space is not publicly available, the rateable value for the space alone is the astoundingly off-putting sum of £1 million per annum.
Now is indeed the time to drink. We join all raising a glass and say cheers to this truly great, rare piece of restaurant news.
If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.
Of the restaurant premises, in September 2025, Claude Bosi told Nick Lander of JancisRobinson.com: “Although this is a building that looks wonderful from the outside and from the interior if you are a customer, what the restaurant trade refers to as ‘back of house’ was inadequate and getting worse. The kitchen staff needed a lot more space; the restaurant staff were having to store tables in the flower shop, and because it had originally been built as Michelin House, it included a tyre-fitting bay and a place where motorists could plan their journeys. The services [for a restaurant] were inadequate. The one downpipe for the lavatories and kitchen would overflow from time to time and the electricity supply was never sufficient. We tried to negotiate but sadly that failed and when it did I had no option but to close. It’s a beautiful building and one that needs to be looked after.” These problems will hopefully have been resolved prior to July 2026’s grand reopening.Designed by François Espinasse – who was also responsible for Michelin’s Paris headquarters – and built “as an ode to the glory of the tyre,” Grade II listed Michelin House, 61 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 6RH stands at the northern end of Sloane Avenue and the start of the Fulham Road. It has a façade clad with green and white tiles and features stained glass windows based on the tyre manufacturer’s adverts of the time. The premises opened for business on 20th January 1911 and remained owned by Michelin until 1987 when it was acquired by Sir Terence Conran and Lord Hamlyn for £8 million. The pair redeveloped the site to provide retail, restaurant and office spaces and increased its size from 90,000 square foot to 118,000 square foot with the addition of a new steel and glass structure on the Sloane Avenue elevation.A tyre-fitting workshop within Michelin House, photographed circa 1912.The original Michelin Man mascot, introduced in 1898, was a slightly intimidating, mummy-like figure rather than the friendly marshmallow character known today. The design – also known as the ‘Michelin Tire Man’ or ‘Michelin Tyre Man’ and ‘Bib’ and ‘Bibelobis’ – reflected multiple stacked rings designed to resemble stacked rubber tyres. The ‘Michelin Guide’ itself was first issued in 1900 and awards up to three Michelin stars to a select few restaurants in certain geographic areas annually.‘The Steeple Times’ featured a party that was held at Bibendum on 7th June 2019 for a London to Monte Carlo car female only car rally that ironically sought to raise funds for victims of sex trafficking. The Cash & Rocket event in Michelin House was attended by heiresses including Paris Hilton and Chloe Green, but became infamous for being the last public sighting in the United Kingdom of the since convicted mucky madam sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell. The pension pot plundering ‘Bouncing Czech’s’ deviant daughter subsequently vanished before being located at the equally ironically named ‘Tucked Away’ on 2nd July 2020; she was then unceremoniously hurled into the clink and rightly remains there rotting.
Matthew Steeples invites you to an evening with ‘Waking The Dead’ writer and co-founder of ‘Byline Times’ Peter Jukes on 20th May 2026 at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, London
Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times
invites you to
An evening with author, screenwriter, playwright and journalist Peter Jukes
Writer: ‘Holby City’, ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’ and ‘Waking The Dead’
Author: ‘A Shout in the Street’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Murdoch’
Podcaster: ‘Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed’
Co-founder: ‘Byline Times’
The Steeple Times – Discussion and Dinner
at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, 52 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HH
on Wednesday 20th May 2026
THE EVENING
* Arrivals for a Prosecco reception in a private setting on the first floor of PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie from 6.30pm. Those arriving earlier are welcome to enjoy a drink at the ground floor PJ’s bar.
* Matthew Steeples in conversation with Peter Jukes at 7pm prompt with audience questions to follow for 30 minutes. The format will be similar to our previous discussions with amongst others biographer and true crime legend Geoffrey Wansell, Britain’s best known crime correspondent Martin Brunt of Sky News, actor, writer and producer Steven Berkoff, filmmaker Amanda Eliasch, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York author Andrew Lownie and Manhunt and Crime Suspect host Peter Bleksley. There will be an opportunity for questions.
* 3-course dinner with wine, with options for those with particular dietary requirements, to follow. Guests will have the opportunity to chat with Peter Jukes and Matthew Steeples during the dinner.
* After dinner, guests will be welcome to continue discussions downstairs at the legendary PJ’s bar for further cocktails and conversation.
PETER JUKES
Swindon born Peter Jukes graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge with a double first in English. A self-declared “Jack of all trades,” Peter’s early plays were performed by Tilda Swinton and Johanna Scalon and his contemporaries at the Cambridge Footlights numbered Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.
During a veritable and varied career, here is a personable polymath who has worked as a journalist, playwright, screenwriter, literary critic and author. Aside from being lauded as an expert in the art of dark comedy, on television and radio, Peter is primarily known for his work in the field of crime thrillers and medical dramas. Credits have included The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Waking the Dead and Sea of Souls. His opening episode of the third season of Holby City was described by The Guardian as “the televisual equivalent of crack” whilst his 20-part series about the murder of the British private investigator Daniel Morgan topped the UK iTunes podcast chart.
Delving into the phone hacking scandal took Peter down a rabbit hole that resulted in him becoming the first person to ‘live tweet’ a trial on his iPad (with the permission of the presiding judge, Mr Justice Saunders). After spending nearly 9 months doing this in 2013 and 2014 and having written a book about the paradoxes of the News Corp head honcho, Rupert Murdoch, titled The Fall of the House of Murdoch, in 2012, he co-founded the crusading investigative title Byline Times in 2012.
The work of Peter Jukes and his colleagues on topics ranging from Brexit and Cambridge Analytic to Jeffrey Epstein’s expressed desire to establish a church for “confession privilege” have resulted in Byline Times being described as a “counter-balance to the billionaire dominated British press.”
BOOKING
Tickets are priced at £85 per person and include a glass of Prosecco on arrival and half a bottle of either red or white wine per person with dinner.
To pay by bank transfer, please use the details below or alternatively please make a transfer of £85 per ticket to the account listed below by clicking the following link:
Tickets can only be purchased in advance and guest names must be supplied for allocated place settings. The deadline for booking is 6pm on Tuesday 19th May 2026. Tickets are issued on a non-refundable basis.
MENU
The ticket price includes a glass of Prosecco on arrival, ½ a bottle of either red or white wine per person and a three course meal.
Matthew Steeples invites you to an evening with redoubtable author and broadcaster Geoffrey Wansell on 22nd April 2026
Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times
invites you to
an evening with redoubtable author and broadcaster Geoffrey Wansell
Biographer of Cary Grant, Sir Terence Rattigan, Sir James Goldsmith and Fred West
The Steeple Times – Interview and Dinner
at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, 52 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HH
on Wednesday 22nd April 2026
THE EVENING
Arrivals for Prosecco in a private setting on the first floor of PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie from 6.30pm.
Matthew Steeples in conversation with Geoffrey Wansell at 7pm prompt with audience questions to follow for 30 minutes. The format will be similar to our previous discussions with amongst others Britain’s best known crime correspondent Martin Brunt of Sky News, actor, writer and producer Steven Berkoff, filmmaker Amanda Eliasch, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York author Andrew Lownie and Manhunt and Crime Suspect host Peter Bleksley.
3-course dinner with wine, with options for those with particular dietary requirements, to follow. Guests will have the opportunity to chat with Geoffrey Wansell and Matthew Steeples during the dinner.
After dinner, guests will be welcome to continue discussions downstairs at the legendary PJ’s bar for further cocktails and conversation.
GEOFFREY WANSELL
Geoffrey Wansell is an award winning journalist, author, podcaster and television documentary maker who has also done a bit of film and theatre here and there along the way. He started his career in Fleet Street in 1967 as a trainee and became a reporter and feature writer on The Times in 1970. He moved briefly to help start Britain’s first commercial radio station, LBC and then went to the Observer, The Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail, where he wrote long features for many years and still works as their Crime and Thriller reviewer.
His first major book was a biography of the movie star Cary Grant in 1983, then he went on to do the tycoon Sir James Goldsmith and the playwright Sir Terence Rattigan before getting tempted into true crime with the offer of becoming the authorised biographer of Frederick West, the Gloucester serial killer. Geoffrey went on to write the biography of another multiple killer, Levi Bellfield, who killed schoolgirl Milly Dowler, and then a book about the 60 or so people sentenced to whole life terms of imprisonment, called Pure Evil.
Those books led him into TV documentaries, and he has made more than 300 hours for a variety of broadcasters, including 200 episodes of Britain’s Most Evil Killer and the World’s Most Evil Killers for Sky, as well as 28 episodes of Murder by the Sea for CBS and now Amazon Prime, not to mention a series on Britain’s prisons for C5 and a standalone documentary on Denis Nilsen for Netflix.
Geoffrey also managed to produce a feature film for 20th Century Fox from Michael Morpurgo’s When the Whales Came, back in 1988, and then do two theatre tours and four weeks in the West End between 2021 and 2024 with his old friend David Suchet in a show called Poirot and More.
BOOKING
Tickets are priced at £85 per person and include a glass of Prosecco on arrival and half a bottle of either red or white wine per person with dinner.
To pay by bank transfer, please click the following link or make a transfer of £85 per ticket to the account listed below:
Tickets can only be purchased in advance and guest names must be supplied for allocated place settings. The deadline for booking is 4pm on Tuesday 21st April 2026. Tickets are issued on a non-refundable basis.
MENU
The ticket price includes a glass of Prosecco on arrival, ½ a bottle of either red or white wine per person and a three course meal.
Matthew Steeples reacts to finding himself mentioned in the latest #EpsteinFiles release; he isn’t complaining, but now understands why Ghislaine Maxwell’s family and associates so objected to his making “mucky madam” references of the deviant daughter of the pension pot plunderer prior to her 2021 trial and conviction
I first wrote of grubby groper Ghislaine Maxwell after encountering her at a ritzy rendezvous to launch a female-only car rally at the sadly since shuttered Bibendum restaurant in London in June 2019.
The evening had been setup by a social climber and self-declared ‘entrepreneur’ named Julie Brangstrup purportedly to raise funds for victims of sex trafficking. With hindsight – given its now most infamous attendee is rotting in a Tallahassee clink for the most sordid of sex crimes – the money-minded Cash & Rocket fundraiser most definitely can now be considered beyond crass.
That summer night, as I dined on sumptuous seafood and Paris Hilton rambled round the room, little did I realise that the ocean obsessed lover of Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would be the weird woman present whose story would hurl me down a rotten rabbit hole that would give even the cast of characters of Alice in Wonderland nightmares. I unexpectedly started to delve into a dark, dark world that very moment and most definitely remain in that dark, dark world still six years on.
Many years prior, over a beverage or five at Tosca Café in San Francisco at the start of the ‘War on Iraq’ in the early 2000s and during one of many visits for the city’s annual International Film Festival, I found myself discussing not only art and architecture, but also arms and anger with a fascinating gent named Dale Djerassi. This trustafarian filmmaker son of the ‘father of the pill’ Dr Carl Djerassi had been married to a woman he named only as ‘Isabel’ and occasionally recounted information about her when not telling me of his ‘art colonies’ and other projects. They had divorced a few years earlier.
The former Mrs Djerassi progressed to establish the Internet search engine Magellan, but it was not until later that I realised that she was originally Isabel Maxwell and her son, Alexander, was thus a grandson of the pension pot plunderer Robert Maxwell. Alexander Djerassi went on to work for Hillary Clinton and now terms himself, like many in the web of which I now recount, a “diplomat, policy expert, and entrepreneur.”
In early 2004, the “MySpace for Millionaires” that was ASmallWorld came into being. I cannot recall how I came to be included, but I was amongst the earliest of members. An uber connected online club that sadly was subsequently destroyed when Harvey Weinstein heaved his almighty girth upon it, this was a place that features in the latest Epstein files release an astonishing 147 times. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were both active ASmallWorlders and their missives there with amongst others the property tycoon and now treasurer for Nigel Farage’s Reform party Nick Candy have begun to emerge in the latest US Department of Justice dump.
Particularly prevalent on the site in its early years also were Epstein and Maxwell’s mates Flavio Briatore and Naomi Campbell; they are, of course, infamous for a St Tropez birthday bash to which the late sex trafficking victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre was taken to shimmy on a gin palace alongside amongst others the coffin dodging convicted criminal and poisonous dwarf Bernie Ecclestone. Back then, it transpires, birds of a rotten feather used ASmallWorld for all sorts of curious conversations; today, it’s just a tacky travellers’ talk room.
Now, after chapters in which I have come into contact with everyone from pontificating PR peddlers for Ghislaine Maxwell including the anything but bashful Brian Basham – a man best known for his association with Robert Mawell and the infamous ‘Dirty Tricks’ campaign run by British Airways against, ironically, Jeffrey Epstein’s pal Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin back in the 1990s – to the poor, unfortunate victims abused by both her and her late lover, this week I was informed that I had been mentioned in the most recent release of what is known as the ‘Epstein Library’ in ‘Tactical Intelligence Report’ documents prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Little to my prior knowledge – thanks to information given to me by a crusading columnist and Daily Mail journalist known for finding the needle in even the highest of haystacks – my writings about Ghislaine Maxwell’s former home at 44 Kinnerton Street, Belgravia had been considered relevant for inclusion at her 2021 trial by the FBI. More importantly, this since shamed ‘socialite’s’ involvement with a “person of interest” in that trial, a “disgraced solicitor” named Malcolm Grumbridge, was the focus of attention in a four-page document also presented in a series of files listed in what the Twitterati hashtag the #EpsteinFiles.
Struck-off, rule breaching Grumbridge, like many associated with the sidelines of this saga, is someone you’ve likely and have no rational reason to have heard of either. I believe that he has connections to the funnel of the missing £500 million plundered by Robert Maxwell and he piqued my interest after James Hurley for The Times, in August 2021, observed:
“[Grumbridge] has been a mysterious figure during his more than four-decade legal and business career… [who has been] at the heart of the Maxwells’ opaque finances, setting up and owning companies on behalf of the brothers Kevin and Ian Maxwell.”
The Steeple Times follow-up to this feature, delved deeper and generated a series of curious emails from individuals associated with Grumbridge and the Maxwells; I had clearly touched a nerve, but little did I know it would be the “mucky madam” reference that would so grate the ire of the decidedly deranged offspring of the ‘Bouncing Czech’ Robert Maxwell.
Most I have spoken with featured in the latest and prior ‘Epstein Library’ releases have unsurprisingly been horrified to find themselves there. Innocent and not-so-innocent exchanges, what were considered to be private pictures (and ones of Peter Mandelson in his undercrackers) have horrified; German venture capitalist and Matt Hancock and Ehud Barak associate Nicole Junkermann bantering: “Will you have a baby with me?” to the croaked paedophile Epstein and simpering and stupid Sarah Ferguson wanting to marry him have shocked and sickened.
For me, this appearance has not done me an iota of harm. Off-record, a television personality and author who was amongst the few to encourage me to go after the Maxwells and their missing money since 2019 when many slammed me with “there’s no story here, find something else” enthused: “You didn’t give up, you haven’t given up and now you must continue. You’re not even 45% out of this rotten rabbit hole yet.” As Lewis Carroll’s character herself concluded: “[It’s all going to get] curiouser and curiouser!”
If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.
Malcolm Grumbridge’s passport photo – shown in the FBI’s 1st October 2021 ‘Tactical Intelligence Report’ presents the image of a proper wrong ‘un’s mugshot. Various information about Grumbridge, a solicitor since 1978 but now removed from the roll, travelling in the USA between 24th and 27th October 2019 are included as are links to articles from ‘The Steeple Times’ amongst other publications, but quite a few details remain redacted even in the recent #EpsteinFiles dump.The listing for ‘The Steeple Times’ in the four page FBI ‘Tactical Intelligence Report’ states: “As of December 2021, according to the Steeple Times, an online magazine based in the UK, Malcolm Grumbridge was found guilty in 2020 ‘of a string of rule breaches’ after more than four decades of having a legal and business career. The article states Grumbridge has been at the heart of the Maxwell’s finances to include acted as the custodian of 44 Kinnerton St in Belgravia, London.” The article also states Grumbridge established over 150 companies in total.” Other details from the ‘DailyMail.com’ and ‘This is Money’ describe him as a “Maxwell family associate” and “Maxwell family friend and lawyer”; he is also referenced in “being removed as a Solicitor from the Solicitors Regulation Authority due to several rule breaches.” Website Chiswick Calendar is referenced as follows: “Malcolm Grumbridge was removed from the Roll of Solicitors after an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) because they identified several ears of concern such as: Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, The SRA Accounts Rules 2011, the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998 and the SRA Code of Conduct. Grumbridge was accused of failing to check the source of where money was coming from and failing to verify the identity of clients. The SRA stated Grumbridge ‘failed to behave in a way that maintain the trust the public places in him.’”‘The Steeple Times’ 5th August 2021 article about Malcolm Grumbridge was titled: “MUCKY MAXWELL & GRUBBY GRUMBRIDGE”. It is now clear why Ghislaine Maxwell’s associates have repeatedly objected to this publication’s references to her as the “mucky madam” and the “mendacious mucky madam”; these references were there for all to see at her trial and rightly set in stone the image of this wicked wastrel woman for what she truly is; a reprehensible and rotten-to-her-core sex offender and convicted criminal who cared more about money than she did about her fellow (wo)man.“Mysterious figure” and tubby twerp Malcolm Grumbridge’s entry in the Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein ‘little black book’ includes an astonishing seven telephone numbers, a postal address in London, W4 and an email also. In our 5th August 2021 report about his fall from grace, we stated: “Former sole practitioner Grumbridge – whom established around 150 companies in total – transferred a cash gift from a client to his personal account, ‘without the client being advised to take any independent legal advice.’ He also was slammed for not accurately maintaining books, making inter-client loans without proper written authority and took cash withdrawals from client bank accounts in favour of himself. Though the Solicitors Regulation Authority deemed Grumbridge’s conduct ‘serious enough to merit a fine of between £25,000 and £50,000’, this was ‘reduced to £2,000 [plus £1,350 in costs) on the basis of the admissions made at an early stage, Grumbridge’s ill health and his co-operation with the investigation.’” One is left asking: “Would anyone with half a brain have trusted Malcolm Grumbridge to be left in control of even a used bus ticket let alone over 150 companies including The Hogarth Group?”When not busy advocating for Ghislaine Maxwell, “disgraced solicitor” and fan of the “truly excellent wines” at the Villa di Geggiano restaurant in Chiswick Malcolm Grumbridge – using the handle @rotewond – has found time to write on the social website formerly known as Twitter. Variously, to his 23 followers, Grumbridge demanded Boris Johnson help asylum seekers and sought to get Dominic Cummings sacked, but contradicted his campaigns in retweeting former CEO of Business in the Community CEO Mary Macleod’s call to #VoteConservative in Brentford in May 2015. A bit of a bombastic busybody, in October 2014, Grumbridge tweeted: “Re-phased lights at junc Chiswick High Road/Goldhawk Road causing long E/B tailbacks – any news on yesterday’s investigation?” In January that year, tickled his followers with announcement that “Mr and Mrs Malcolm Grumbridge of Chiswick, London” were delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter, Zoë, to one Jonathan Rippon. The now Mrs Rippon, on her X handle @zoegrum, currently lists herself as head of fundraising for the non-profit AfriKids. Malcolm Grumbridge himself does not appear to have used X since July 2022.The Maxwell family’s curious ‘network’ of associates and supporters has also included the pontificating pillock and PR peddler Brian Basham, his sordid sidekick Jay Beecher and the “memory lapsed” moron once accused of shoplifting, Richard Madeley.
Emerging research on the PEG-MGF peptide: Properties and prospective research implications
The splice variant of Insulin‑like growth factor‑1 (IGF-1), known as Mechano‑Growth Factor (MGF, also IGF-1Ec), has garnered increasing attention in the scientific literature due to its distinct expression pattern, mechanosensitivity, and potential tissue‐specific roles. More recently, a modified form, the pegylated variant PEG‑Mechano‑Growth Factor (PEG-MGF), has been proposed for research use, owing to its improved stability and extended presence in the organism compared to native MGF. This article aims to synthesize current knowledge about PEG-MGF’s biochemical and cellular properties and to explore its possible uses across research domains.
Biochemical and molecular properties of MGF and PEG-MGF
MGF is generated via alternative splicing of the igf-1 gene: the IGF-1Ec transcript contains part of exon 5 spliced to exon 6, resulting in a reading‐frame shift and a unique E-domain sequence. Unlike the liver‐derived systemic IGF-1Ea isoform, MGF is expressed locally in response to mechanical stimuli or damage, especially in muscle and other tissues supported by load. Investigations have suggested that the E-domain of MGF may act via mechanisms independent of the IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), implying distinct signaling pathways.
One challenge in using native MGF for experimental purposes is its rapid clearance: reports indicate that the half‐life of native MGF may be only minutes in research. In response, PEGylation—the covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains—has been applied to MGF to prolong its residence time, improve solubility, and reduce clearance. The PEG-MGF variant is thus designed for research contexts to probe cellular responses to a more persistent MGF isoform.
Cellular and mechanistic properties
The native MGF splice variant has been studied in many contexts of cell activation, proliferation, differentiation, and tissue adaptation. For example, research suggests that MGF may enhance the proliferative potential of muscle satellite (stem) cells, delay senescence in progenitor populations, and modulate the progression from proliferation to differentiation. In particular, MGF’s expression is induced early after mechanical overload or damage, whereas other IGF-1 isoforms appear later in the repair process.
The E-domain of MGF is believed to contribute to cellular responses that are somewhat independent of canonical IGF-1R activation. For example, in neural stem/progenitor cell systems, MGF has been suggested to increase neurosphere size and number, suggesting an influence on progenitor cell proliferation and pool maintenance. In cartilage/chondrocyte research, MGF has been implicated in the regulation of chondrocyte activity and cartilage homeostasis under mechanical stimuli.
Potential research domains and implications
Skeletal muscle biology and mechanobiology
Research indicates that MGF may be upregulated in response to mechanical loading and overload in skeletal muscle, suggesting a role in adaptation to mechanical stress. In experimental systems, PEG-MGF may be relevant to studies of how long-acting growth signals modulate satellite cell activation, fiber regeneration, or myogenic lineage commitment. For instance, studies suggest that the temporal extension afforded by PEGylation may enable investigations into how sustained vs transient signaling influences muscle progenitor cell pools, fusion kinetics, or fiber hypertrophy/hyperplasia processes.
Bone, cartilage, and connective tissue research
MGF (and its peptides) has been linked to osteoblast proliferation, bone-defect healing, and chondrocyte regulation. PEG-MGF may be applied in tissue models to probe the role of growth-factor splicing variants in skeletal tissues. For example, in cartilage defect repair frameworks, PEG-MGF may help elucidate how chondrocytes, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells, or cartilage progenitors respond to extended growth signal cues in a mechanically loaded environment.
Neural progenitor cell and neuroregeneration research
The possible role of MGF in neural progenitor proliferation and neurogenesis has been documented. For instance, overexpression of MGF in research models appeared to have resulted in increased proliferative neural progenitor cells in neurogenic niches. PEG-MGF may be adapted to cell culture or organoid models of neural stem/progenitor cells to test how extended growth-factor signaling influences differentiation, maturation, or survival of neural lineages.
Mechanistic signaling and epigenetic research
Investigations purport that PEG-MGF may enable longer‐term exposure in controlled experimental settings, allowing the investigation of downstream signaling cascades (such as ERK1/2, MAPK, or other kinases), gene‐regulatory networks, microRNA modulation, and epigenetic changes induced by growth-factor splicing variants. For example, since MGF is believed to act independently of IGF-1R in some contexts, PEG-MGF might help identify the alternative receptor(s) or intracellular mediators involved in MGF-specific signaling.
Metabolic and mechanotransductive research
Some review commentary suggests that PEG-MGF may extend beyond classical “repair” domains to influence metabolic regulation, lipid oxidation, immune cell recruitment, and mechanotransduction signaling. While empirical data remains limited, PEG-MGF is hypothesized to serve as a probe in mechanobiology laboratories where mechanical stimuli, cell stretch, fluid shear, or matrix stiffness are modulated, to examine how growth signal kinetics interplay with mechanical cues in shaping cell responses.
Conclusion
In summary, PEG-MGF represents a promising research reagent derived from the mechanosensitive splice variant MGF of the IGF-1 gene. Its extended life span, enhanced stability, and potential to modulate progenitor cell activation render it of interest across multiple domains: skeletal muscle adaptation, cartilage and bone mechanobiology, neural progenitor cell research, stem-cell engineering, and mechanotransductive signaling studies.
Provided that investigators remain mindful of its mechanistic uncertainties, exposure kinetics, and context‐specific responses, Pegylated-MGF may contribute significantly to deepening our understanding of growth‐factor splice variants, tissue adaptation to mechanical cues, and the modulation of progenitor cell populations.
‘Private Eye’ called out for publishing classified adverts from wacko wannabe “Village Elders” with a penchant for “amusing kids” and an actual crackpot crazy who tried and failed to kidnap Princess Anne in London in 1974
The latest edition of Private Eye contains an especially creepy classified advertisement. A link to it was sent to us by an especially beady eyed reader. It states:
Couple (60s) seek position as Village Elders in a community. Skills include knitting, martial arts, book-keeping, business advice, vegetable growing and amusing the kids. Any location worldwide but must speak English. No remuneration needed. Text 07486 434079 for more details.
Aside from the Jimmy Savile-esque vibes that the throwaway inclusion of “amusing kids” gives off, the fact that two sixty somethings of sex undefined want to move utterly anywhere for utterly no payment seems a little beyond weird. Whilst calls and texts from The Steeple Times to the number for the knitting and martial arts lovers listed were not answered, what’s the betting on these wannabe “Village Elders” being successful in their quest for their wacko wants? We wouldn’t go below 999/1.
The advert posted by the wannabe “Village Elders” that will likely not result in them achieving the placement they desire.
Elsewhere in the same magazine’s classified section is an advert placed by another oddity named Ian Ball. It doesn’t exactly share a great deal of detail, but simply offers:
‘To Kidnap a Princess’ by Ian Ball noveltokidnapaprincess.co.uk
For the majority whom unsurprisingly don’t immediately recognise this somewhat ordinary sounding name, this is the very same Ian Ball who attempted to kidnap Princess Anne on 20th March 1974 on Pall Mall in London, but who only succeeded in injuring a number of bystanders with a series of shots. Ball failed in his attempt – which was later bizarrely ‘justified’ as a “publicity stunt” and an attempt to raise £2 million from a ransom that he claimed he intended to give to the NHS – and subsequently pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. John Hazan QC, defending, claimed his client was “mad” and had been “led by a voice of either his late father or God.”
Top: The attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne in March 1974, as reconstructed in the 2006 ITV drama ‘To Kidnap A Princess’. Bottom: Failed kidnapper Ian Ball snapped arriving for his trial and the Rolls-Royce in which Princess Anne travelled on the night of the attempt to abduct her.The advert promoting Ian Ball’s book.
Ball – who also goes by the pseudonym ‘Anthony Stewart’ – was subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and detained in mental hospitals for 45 years until his release in 2019. In August 2025, he laughably claimed the late Queen Elizabeth II had been the “ringleader” of a plot that led to him being wrongfully jailed and told the Daily Mail: “I’m an innocent, sane man… The whole idea of performing the hoax was to get the publicity so I could write my autobiography and I expected to get £10,000 in royalties.”
Going further, on the website linked to from the online version of the weekly magazine, most certainly beyond bonkers Ball rages whilst promoting his tall tale tome To Kidnap a Princess:
“The author spent 45 years locked up in Rampton and Broadmoor criminal lunatic asylums, after being convicted of the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne.”
“Throughout his stay in the asylums he was in constant conflict with the psychopathic screws and criminal doctors.”
“The abuse resulting from the conflict was born with a remarkable stoicism and with an astonishing positive attitude. Such resilience was due, mainly, to the author’s efforts in applying his hilariously unique and wry sense of humour to the situation.”
“Although the authorities did everything to try and break his spirit, the author remains unbowed and eventually prevails.”
In light of the highlighting of these two clearly crackpot advertisements, perhaps Private Eye might henceforth implement a better procedure to vet those taking space in their classifieds. Paraphrasing what Princess Anne is said to have exclaimed on being ordered out of her chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce by her wannabe kidnapper Ian Ball that dark night in March 1974, the chances of such are probably to be found in the land of “not bloody likely!”
Matthew Steeples invites you to join him as he celebrates his 45th birthday with a discussion-dinner with Sky News crime legend Martin Brunt on the 27th January 2026 in London
“High praise for the Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt. When a hack from (another) newspaper phoned Suffolk Police press office with a query on the serial killer case, he was told: ‘Call Martin Brunt. He knows everything before we do.’ A little concerning.”
Hugo Rifkind, The Times, 22nd December 2006
Matthew Steeples invites you to PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie in London on his own 45th birthday for an evening where he will chat to the author, commentator and renowned Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt about his 36 years delving into stories of deaths, deviancy and drama in Britain and beyond.
Educated in Soham – best known as the place where Ian Huntley brutally slayed 10-year-olds Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in August 2002 – Brunt began his career as a reporter on local newspapers before moving to the Sunday Mirror as chief reporter and then joined Sky News for its launch in February 1989. For 36 years hence, Brunt became a staple in households throughout the land as he covered stories ranging from the ‘House of Horrors’ murders committed by Fred and Rosemary West in Gloucester to the still ongoing case of the disappearance of the toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007.
Aside from meeting murderers and maniacs, Brunt’s career in crime reporting is highlighted as one where he became acknowledged for his ability to gain access to sources others could not dream of and one where he has been able to observe the character traits of such criminals as “Britain’s most violent prisoner” Charles Bronson from an alternative angle. He recounts what he describes in his 2023 memoir No One Got Cracked Over The Head For No Reason as the “odd moments of humour or humanity” he has found in “even the darkest cases” with an example where Hatton Gang vault robber described his gang as being “Dad’s Army rather than criminal masterminds,” for example.
On 27th January at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie – following on from rip-roaring evenings with amongst others actor, writer and producer Steven Berkoff, filmmaker Amanda Eliasch, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York author Andrew Lownie and Manhunt and Crime Suspect host Peter Bleksley – you will get to enjoy a delicious 3-course dinner after 45-minutes of conversation and questions with this tenacious reporter and commentator and to learn of some of the true stories behind the headlines of cases ranging from the 2015 murder conviction of South African blade runner Oscar Pistorious to the 1987 Knightsbridge Safe Deposit robbery.
Tickets are priced at £85 per person and include a glass of Prosecco on arrival and half a bottle of either red or white wine per person also with dinner. Full details of how to book follow below.
We do hope you can join us for what will be an evening of convivial conversation and classic crime capers.
If you haven’t done so already, please consider supporting keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon.
Martin Brunt spent 36 years at Sky News. Of his time there, he recently remarked: “It all began at a time when there was no 24-hour TV news channel in Europe, Margaret Thatcher was PM, Germany was two countries divided by the Berlin wall, Kylie was still just a soap actress and beer was a penny a pint. I made up that last bit. Prince Harry was a toddler and many of my current colleagues weren’t even born… We were hip young gunslingers who shot up the TV news establishment and eventually built a global audience who loved us for being bold, brash and innovative. It was fun to be part of the revolution. Early on, I tried wars, earthquakes and famines, but very quickly decided a life of crime was better for my health, though there have been dodgy times… Being Sky News crime correspondent has been the best job in the world. But it’s changed. The phone hacking scandal, the Leveson Report – which frowned on old police-press relationships – new privacy laws, and growing risk aversion have scuppered the sort of crime reporting I once did. Happily, things are improving slowly… Over the years, I did think about opportunities elsewhere but for me, obviously, Sky was the limit… Sky News has become my Hotel California…I can check out anytime I like, but I can never leave. Here’s to the next 36 years.”The case that Brunt has become most famously linked to is the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3rd May 2007. He has delved into this story again and again over the years and most recently spent much time covering the thus far unsuccessful investigation into the German criminal Christian Brueckner.Other notable cases have included that involving the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit robber Valerio Viccei, the murder of the BBC television presenter Jill Dando and the notoriously violent prisoner Charles Bronson
Booking Details
TIMINGS
The event is to be held on Tuesday 27th January 2026.
Arrivals for Prosecco in a private setting on the first floor of PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie from 6.30pm.
Matthew Steeples in conversation with Martin Brunt at 7pm prompt with audience questions to follow for 45 minutes.
3-course dinner with wine, with options for those with particular dietary requirements, to follow. Guests will have the opportunity to chat with Martin Brunt and Matthew Steeples during the dinner.
After dinner, guests will be welcome to continue discussions downstairs at the legendary PJ’s bar for further cocktails and conversation.
ADDRESS
The event is to be held at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, 52 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 6HH.
The nearest London Underground station is South Kensington (District, Circle and Piccadilly lines); it is located just 5 minutes away on foot.
The event is to be held on the first floor of the building; access is by staircase only.
PAYMENT FOR TICKETS AND BOOKING QUERIES
Deadline for booking – Tuesday 27th January 2026 at 11:30am; tickets can only be purchased in advance and guest names must be supplied for allocated place settings.
Tickets can be purchased at a rate of £85 per person. Please make payment by bank transfer to:
Bank: Barclays Bank
Account Name: Longreach Publishing Limited
Sort Code: 20-90-74
Account Number: 63608697
IBAN: GB13BUKB20907463608697
SWIFTBIC: BUKB
Please reference payments “BRUNT” and include your surname and the surnames of any guests also to aid our record keeper.
SET MENU – 3 course dinner, Tuesday 27th January 2026
The ticket price includes a glass of Prosecco on arrival, ½ a bottle of either red or white wine per person and a choice of one of each of the following:
