Milburn denies rubbishing Harman in late-night chat

* Hours after Gordon Brown's calibrated attempt at a Labour leadership speech was ambushed by Cherie Blair branding him "a liar" on Monday, news broke of more loose lips in the upper echelons of New Labour - over the soon-to-be vacant deputy leadership.

At a drinks party during the early hours of Tuesday morning, one journalist claims to have overheard Alan Milburn having a bar-stool discussion with colleagues over the merits of Harriet Harman as a potential deputy leader.

"Don't give that me all that crap about the feminist vote, she's hopeless," Pandora's mole at the bar apparently heard him say. "If she's honest she'd say she's pitching for the useless vote."

Earlier that evening, Milburn had been speaking alongside Mrs Harman at a fringe meeting organised by The Independent.

At the event, Harman, considered a loyal Brownite within the party, had carefully laid out her own stall for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, which will become available when John Prescott vacates the post next year. Her expected rivals for the position, Jack Straw and Peter Hain, were also there, making their views heard.

Mr Milburn's loyalty to Tony Blair over the past few years has earned him the reputation as a Labour "outrider".

When I called Milburn about the matter, he vehemently denied ever making any such comments. "I shared a platform with Harriet last night and I just wish people would report what I said, not what somebody has made up," he said.

* Richard Griffiths might be best remembered for his portrayal of an eccentric homosexual in Withnail and I, but the gay scene is definitely not for him.

"Homosexuality is the last thing that would occur to me as a sex activity," he says.

"I don't get it. I just can't see what the attraction is."

Griffiths who makes his comments in this month's Saga magazine, is currently enjoying a purple patch in his career.

He recently appeared in the Broadway transfer of History Boys, the West End play written by the openly homosexual playwright, Alan Bennett.

"I talked to Alan about it - where is the gratification?" he adds. "Riding a motorcycle, using a hand in a gauntlet to heft at the crotch of your passenger? What can you get out of that?"

* After grinding out a career for himself in British television during the 90s, Coventry-born actor Clive Owen can now claim to be a Hollywood star of some standing.

Refreshingly, at the recent premiere of his new movie Children of Men, Owen was not afraid to admit he'd had a little assistance along the way from the surgeon's knife.

"I've had tons of surgery done, but I can't say what on," he told me.

As my picture shows, it's actually not that hard to hazard a guess as to where he's talking about.

If you can't, here's a clue: a red-top journalist chum of the actor recently described their appearance in the early 80s as being "like mossy gravestones".

* Heckles and boos were lobbed at him from the TUC a fortnight back, but there was no danger of Tony Blair receiving any similar treatment during his conference speech yesterday.

So far this week, the front row of the hall has been occupied by the brethren of the union Unison. Not surprisingly, before the PM took to the stage they were replaced with a cast of Blairite lackeys.

"They brought in the National Union of Applauders and the Amalgamated Brotherhood of Lickspitters," grumbles one staunch unionist.

"We were all ready to clap Tony - in all the wrong places."

* There's been an embarrassing delay in the elevation of Sir John Betjeman to London's elite Blue Plaque brigade.

Last Friday, one of English Heritage's distinguished commemorative plaques was due to be unveiled at the great man's childhood home in Highgate. But fans were left disappointed at the ceremony when they were informed the ceramic would not be going up.

Unfortunately, just days before, it had arrived at the home of Heritage chief David Cannadine - smashed into smithereens.

"I normally thank the people who make the plaques but not this time," says Mr Cannadine. "We've put up a temporary metal plaque for now until we get a new one cast."

pandora@independent.co.uk