ANNA MIKHAILOVA: Karren Brady buries feminist principles in the sand

Boris Johnson isn’t the only Tory engaged on a charm offensive with Saudi Arabia.

Just weeks before the PM’s oil-begging visit to the human rights-loving Kingdom last Thursday, Baroness (Karren) Brady of TV’s The Apprentice fame was in the Saudi capital (pocketing a fee plus free flights and accommodation) to speak ‘on the importance of women in business and female entrepreneurship’.

Other speakers at the Riyadh tech conference included the deputy chairman of Chinese electronics giant Huawei and the Saudi energy minister.

This is the same Baroness Brady who quit Philip Green’s retail empire’s board after he was accused of sexually harassing female staff – something he vigorously denied.

Brady said she couldn’t ‘square’ her feminist credentials with working for Sir Shifty.

Yet Saudi Arabia continues to allow men to file lawsuits against women for ‘disobedience’, detains female activists and requires women to seek a man’s permission to start a business or leave a domestic abuse shelter. They have, however, graciously been allowed to drive.

Though silent about her trip, the 52-year-old businesswoman, whose full title is Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge (even though she is vice-chairman of West Ham FC), has now spoken more times in Saudi Arabia than she has in the House of Lords over the past two years.

Her only contribution in the Chamber was on a Women’s Day debate last year when she urged us all to ‘celebrate the progress that we continue to make on our long march to empowerment and equality’. A long march indeed for the women of Saudi Arabia.

Sources tell me that Policing Minister Kit Malthouse has been desperate to make his mark during weekly Cabinet meetings. 

Frequent interventions about the economy have led colleagues to believe he’s pitching to be the next Chancellor.

Unsurprisingly, incumbent Rishi Sunak (above) has been staring ‘daggers’ across the table over Malthouse ramblings on the importance of monetarism

Unsurprisingly, incumbent Rishi Sunak has been staring ‘daggers’ across the table over Malthouse ramblings on the importance of monetarism. 

He may be no Milton Friedman, but Malthouse has been closely allied to Johnson since the PM’s days as London Mayor. 

Yesterday, a senior Tory told me that with Partygate mostly behind him, Boris might feel emboldened to shuffle Sunak and his leadership aspirations out of the Treasury within months. Watch this space.

The first Tory MP ‘away day’ for several years has been cancelled because of the war in Ukraine. 

A mini-conference of northern soul-searching was due to be held this weekend in Blackpool.

But the Government has bigger priorities than boosting backbenchers’ morale. Such as… a fancy party for its biggest donors.

War or no war, the schmoozing of ‘Leaders Group’ money men and women willing to cough up £50,000 a year to rub shoulders with BoJo (pictured) will not be cancelled

War or no war, the schmoozing of ‘Leaders Group’ money men and women willing to cough up £50,000 a year to rub shoulders with BoJo will not be cancelled.

The next extravaganza with the PM ‘plus Cabinet’ will take place in ten days at a glamorous London venue, I can reveal.

Bombs may be dropping all over Ukraine but in London the unseemly donations-for-access beano must still go on.

The BBC won’t disclose how much licence-payers’ money is being spent on defending a legal case brought against it by former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

He’s suing for defamation over allegations he sanctioned the killing of an ex-Sinn Fein official and double agent. 

Responding to a Freedom of Information request, the BBC admitted there was public interest in being transparent over its use of licence-fee money but said it was outweighed by the need for secrecy. 

This includes concerns that ‘competitors’ might use the information to its disadvantage. Heaven forbid.