News about Ian Hislop

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Purchasing a copy of the late Queen's Launer handbag - £2,640 for the Traviata style at the Royal Collection shop - will not help solve the mystery of what HM kept in her ubiquitous accessory. But Admiral Lord West discloses what the Queen Mother kept in hers. Sitting next to her at dinner, a lady-in-waiting passed him the royal's purse after she had signalled her need of a handkerchief. Lord West opened the bag. 'It was completely empty,' he tells Radio 4.

Ian Hislop opened the BBC 's Have I Got News For You broadcast by joking about his taxi window being smashed by 'gunshots' earlier this week, as he revealed what the police asked him. The Private Eye editor had been travelling along Dean Street in London when glass from the back window shattered inside the vehicle with initial reports suggesting someone had fired a weapon. However this was soon dismissed by officers who confirmed there is 'no evidence of a firearms discharge at this time'. On the show Hislop laughed: 'I always say at this point I'm glad to be here, but this week I really mean it'.

Glass shattered inside the vehicle carrying Hislop, 64, after a window was smashed and there were initial reports someone had shot a weapon at the vehicle close to his satirical magazine's offices in Soho, central London. Witnesses have described how Hislop - who has now issued a statement thanking 'everyone for their concern' - was seen 'shaking' in the aftermath of the incident which took place shortly after 10am yesterday. And newly-emerged footage taken by a local showed the damaged vehicle being lifted on to a truck after the mystery incident.

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop (left) was showered with glass after a gunman shot at his taxi during morning rush hour. The Have I Got News For You star, known for his exchanges with rival team captain Paul Merton, was in the back seat of the black cab when a firearm was discharged. The bullet struck the rear window of the hackney carriage shortly after 10am on Tuesday as the car sat in traffic in Soho (top inset), central London, near the Eye's offices (right).

The Have I Got News For You star, known for his exchanges with rival team captain Paul Merton , was in the back seat of the black cab when a firearm was discharged. The bullet struck the rear window of the hackney carriage shortly after 10am on Tuesday as the car sat in traffic in Soho, central London. Both escaped without injury, according to reports. The incident took place on Dean Street close to its junction with Oxford Street - close to where Private Eye's offices are located.

Bestselling author VICTORIA HISLOP, 65, didn't start writing fiction until her 40s. Nurture what you're really good at as you get older, she tells Tasmina Perry, and success will follow

The elite establishment, founded more than 200 years ago, has been rocked by a series of bitter feuds, with the latest chapter focusing on the legitimacy of new fellows set to be elected to the country's most august writers' organisation. Members are reportedly clashing heads behind the scenes over plans to make the group more inclusive in a bid to bring new writers from more diverse background - who may not socialise within the bubble of the London elite - into the fold. But some of the country's finest wordsmiths are also up in arms amid accusations of censorship blighting the famed institution, with former heads of the society accusing the current leadership of 'autocratic' behaviour. The feud, which has been going on since last year, came to a head this month when 20 senior members of the establishment vowed to boycott the summer party, which is the jewel in the group's social calendar. Among those in attendance included Ian Hislop and artist Sir Grayson Perry (left), Novelist Elizabeth Day (centre) and Booker Prizer winner Bernardine Evaristo (right)

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: ToryParty imps suggesting that Sir Keir Starmer is over the hill should tread with caution. At 75, the King, the oldest person to take the throne, doesn't take kindly to age-related jokes, with all his PMs likely to be relative youngsters. It was different for his mother. Her first seven PMs were older than her and her last seven were younger. Number 9 Margaret Thatcher, 53, was the same age. Of the 57 PMs, 12 have been older than Starmer, 61, when they came to office for the first time, including Churchill (65), Attlee and Macmillan (both 62). The last sexagenarian to enter Downing Street was Labour's Callaghan (64) in 1976. A good omen for Keir?

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Are the £75 tours of Buckingham Palace's balcony room a dry run for when the Palace becomes a fully-fledged cash-cow?With Charles basing himself at Clarence House and in effect downgrading the Palace, couldn't he raise millions making it available to film crews and organisations for functions? If the Palace tills worked all year, the annual £12 million income from the summer openings could have quadrupled. I'm told the balcony was included in the original tour itinerary, with paying visitors photographed at the historic venue but it was later turned down.

I haven't worn anything in bed since I was about 16.' Being naked and having clean sheets around you is so luxurious and liberating.

The Aberdeen Bestiary, a medieval manuscript, depicts a fictional creature expelling acidic gas and faeces from its anus as a form of defense. The image has been rediscovered by satirist and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop in his quest to find Britain's oldest jokes for a new podcast. A deceptive knight robs a young cub from a mother tiger (bottom right) and a basilisk being struck (top right).

Naga Munchetty has been asked by fans to host Have I Got News For You as the permanent host of Have I Got News For You. The BBC Breakfast host, 48, appeared on Friday's special edition of the show, joined by panelists Ian Hislop and Paul Merton, and guest panellists Maisie Adam and Richard Osman. Fans were left hysterics as she made an X-rated quip and displayed her risqué humour as she hoped to benefit from her appearance on a post-watershed display.

Victoria Coren Mitchell, 51, (pictured left, right, and inset) and David Mitchell, 49, who have just had their second child, June Violet, who has just turned around, has been doing well. The pair, who revealed the pregnancy news last week by retaining the family's information private, pushed a blue buggy as they went for a stroll and ran some errands in London. Barbara, an eight-year-old girl, has already have an eight-year-old daughter.

Victoria, the mother of eight-year-old Barbara with comedian David, 49, kept her pregnancy a mystery until announcing the birth of her second child (announcement in The Times inset). Victoria speculated at her forthcoming maternity leave in recent weeks as she cryptically tweeted about moving a 'little sabbatical' away from her work as a TV presenter. Victoria has made few public and red carpet appearances in recent months, and she was last seen attending an event on June 21 (left). Victoria appeared on Have I Got News for You (right), just weeks before giving birth, but she managed to mask her pregnancy on air.

Zoom Rockman, 23, (left and right), said he was 'disappointed' by the front page's design, but also the London-based satirical journal's leadership, who said he did not respond when he told them about the alert he had received. The front of issue 1609 read: 'Warning: This may include some critique of the Israeli government, as well as the fact that killing everyone in Gaza as a result of Hamas atrocities may not be a long-term solution to the region's problems.' One of the responses was: "Hope both you and your extended family will meet Hamas in person very soon." Pictured are Mr Rockman's bottom (top) and the mocked-up cover he produced in response (top).

CRAIG BROWN: Last week, Private Eye magazine held a party on the River Thames, starting from Westminster Pier at 12.30 p.m., with fireworks starting from Westminster Pier immediately after. The atmosphere at Private Eye Parties was merry, as is always the case. As the editor, Ian Hislop, spoke to us, he told us that the only one who hadn't made it on time was cartoonist Tony Husband, because his train from Manchester had been postponed. Everyone groomed and chuckled at the same time: we groaned because Tony was so well liked and chuckled because the British sense of humor never fails to revolve around bad fortune. 'I Nearly Died Laughing,' is one of Tony's cartoon collections. A GP at his desk, dressed in a hazmat suit, explains to a bewildered man: 'OK, Mr Noble, your results have returned,' - it says.'

EXCLUSIVE: Close-up photos of the article appear in the four-part documentary, which was produced by Beckham's own firm and paints a flattering portrait of the former England captain. In the Daily Mirror, a front-page article titled MY SISTER DID HAVE A HELP WITH BECKS appeared the day after the scandal broke in April 2004. 'David Beckham and his personal assistant Rebecca Loos had an affair,' her brother said yesterday.' But Beckham, the first two lines of the headline, disappear, leaving only AFFAIR WITH BECKS.'

After he threatened to sue the BBC for not paying him, a TV actor's amusing interview has appeared on the trailer for the new series Have I Got News for You. Guy Goma, 54, from Brazzaville, Congo, made international news in 2006 after being led to a studio where a journalist was interviewed live on television.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Roger Law, the stalwart of Spitting Image, was furious with Ian Hislop while The Reunion's stalwart claimed that Law was the only one to profit from the satirical puppet show. 'If there's a silence after that on the broadcast version, it must be because I swore at him in response, and they've now cut that out!' According to Radio Times, law enforcement is outraged. 'If I was as rich as he accuses me of being, then I'd almost be as rich as him!'Could Roger be referring to the £20,000 the Private Eye editor supposedly trousers for every edition of the now jaded BBC's HIGNFY?

When she stepped out of Have I Got News with Ian Hislop and Steph McGovern, Carol Vorderman smuggered her hourglass figure in a chic ensemble. In a dramatic skin-tight denim jumpsuit that accentuated her jaw-dropping figure, the TV host, 62, looked ageless. As the pair appeared to be unable to contain a chuckle, the media actress seemed to be having the time of her life when she was caught leaning out arm in arm with Private Eye editor Ian.

Peter Usborne, the children's book publisher, who was behind the 'Usborne Book of' series of books (books from the series pictured right), died at the age of 85, according to his publishing company. Mr Usborne, who was characterized as a 'genius' with a 'child-like energy and curiosity,' was also the first managing director of Private Eye when the satirical journal was established in 1961. Billy And The Mini Monsters, Puzzle Adventure, and Farmyard Tales Poppy And Sam book series were all among his titles, before he started his own business.

Despite the country's appalling human rights record, the former Manchester United defender turned pundit, a Labour activist, has been accused of hypocrisy after signing a deal with BeIN Sports, a Qatari state broadcaster. The backlash erupted when he ranted last night as millions of British football fans watched the World Cup final last night, with ITV chastised for failing to act and now advising not to use him again. Neville entranted in an extraordinary debate, claiming that the conditions for striking nurses and railway workers in the UK were similar to those facing Qatar's huge foreign labour force. He also stated that British ministers were'demonizing' public sector employees. He refused to back down today, despite a tweet a day earlier today about 'cold-heart Tories' putting lives in jeopardy' by failing to do a strike agreement with NHS workers. He even threatened one critic of alcoholic beverages. One viewer called him 'the full definition of champagne socialism,' and warned him that he might'never wash off... all the sweet qatar gold'. Mr Neville sent a series of emojis, one of which sent sarcastic kisses.

On Friday, Gary Neville posted a video in which he confessed to being 'nervous,' ahead of his first appearance presenting Have I Got News For You. The former footballer, 47, confessed to filming the video in a 'uncomfortable moment' before joining Paul Merton and Ian Hislop on air in his first position as guest stars. He confessed to his'stress' because of not being a professional presenter and having a team of 'intelligent, astute, and experienced' broadcasters alongside him.

Rupa Huq, a Labour MP, has cancelled out of a scheduled appearance on Have I Got News For You after being banned from her party for describing Kwasi Kwarteng as 'black'. On October 7, Miss Huq, the sister of former Blue Peter host Konnie, was scheduled to be a panelist on the BBC 1 news comedy show. She was due to join team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton, as well as comedian Ivo Graham and guest host Victoria Coren Mitchell. But program creators Hat Trick Productions announced: "Rupa Huq MP has decided not to appear" and "Rupa Huq MP has refused to appear."