Britain’s Newest Political Group Ate Nando’s Before Dealing With Brexit

Has a trip to Nando’s ever caused more debate? On Monday, the MPs who make up the recently formed Independent Group took a trip to the Nando’s in Cardinal Place. They included Chuka Umunna, the party’s de facto leader, former Labourite Luciana Berger, and ex-Conservative Heidi Allen. Cue much scrambling to work out what Anna Soubry’s order of chips and bottled water says about her reliability as an MP; enquiries as to why Mike Gapes appeared to have no dinner at all, and frantic attempts to discover what spice rating the new group chose.

Some clarity came from Berger in this week’s New Statesman: “I can reveal that my order was a medium hot pitta with pineapple, plus a corn on the cob and peri peri chips on the side (very revealing, no doubt). There was an entertaining moment when Mike Gapes and Chuka Umunna’s ‘sunset burgers’ got mixed up.”

Politics, eh?

Beyond Westminster, others ventured beyond peri peri. On Friday night, BAFTA nominated actress Jessie Buckley was spotted with a male friend at Pix, the tapas restaurant on Soho’s Bateman Street.

Princess Beatrice dined at The Chiltern Firehouse on Sunday night with her boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The pair, who have been dating since last autumn after meeting at the wedding of Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie, didn’t leave until the early hours of the morning.

Model Daisy Lowe and Game Of Thrones actor Ed Skrein were spotted at the White City offshoot of Chelsea favourite Bluebird Cafe on Monday night. The pair were amongst the guests at a For Good Causes dinner, in aid of charity The Big House.

Same old story with London weather: the first glimpse of sun and everyone heads to the roof terraces. Megan Barton-Hanson, who competed in the latest series of ITV hit Love Island, followed suit on Wednesday evening by visiting Shoreditch House.

Geoffrey Cox, the Tory MP and Attorney General who basically holds the success of a Brexit deal on his shoulders, still needs to eat. He was seen having lunch at Shepherd’s Restaurant on Thursday afternoon. Then back to the grind, presumably.