Little black magic: 'Newly single' Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wows in a cut-out minidress on a magazine party night out

She is reported to be 'on a break' from her long-term love Jason Statham.

And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked every inch the single girl having fun as she enjoyed a giggly night out.

The 26-year-old model was in high spirits as she left the AnotherMagazine party held at LouLou's members club in Mayfair, London, on Monday.

Stylish: Rosie wows in a cut-out black minidress and coordinated shoes

She looked typically stunning in a little black minidress featuring cut-out details and buttons on the bodice.
She matched the dress with a pair of heeled sandals bearing a geometric design.

 

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She wore her long blonde locks loose and wavy and opted for minimal makeup with a nude lipstick and a flick of black eyeliner.

Having fun: Rosie laughs as she leaves the 55 Hertford Street members club in Mayfair, London, in the company of a stylist friend

Bubbly: Rosie seemed to be enjoying herself as she giggled in the car home

The model left the club in the company of a leather-clad stylist friend.
The pair looked cheerful as they chatted in their car home with the Devon-born beauty smiling and giggling at her companion.
Rosie has been dating Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels actor Jason Statham since 2010 with Jason reported to be planning to propose. 
But it has recently been rumoured that the pair have parted ways.

Getting along: The pair seemed in high spirits and seemed to share a sense of humour

Big similes: The pair seemed to have had a great night out at the club

Model looks: The understated outfit showed off the star's natural beauty

  

Elegant: Rosie looked stunning in her classic LBD paired with a gold and black clutch bag

A source close to the pair, said: ‘There is no other person involved. They love each other very much and are not making an announcement because they’re still hoping to working things out.
‘But things have not been good, there have been lots of arguments and they both need some space.
‘They are taking some time out from each other. Bear in mind there’s an almost 20 year age gap between them – they are going to run into some issues.’
The couple’s reported time-out follows Rosie’s gushing interview with Elle magazine which will be published in October and will see her grace the front cover.

Seeing the funny side: Rosie was in continued good spirits

Speaking to the magazine, she said: ‘Many models are in long term relationships for stability.
Admittedly, not always with great men, but it gives them something to come home to, something grounding.
‘That’s how I see my relationship. Well, I see it in many ways but of the most beautiful things is that I feel at home wherever I am in the world because of him.’
A representative for Rosie commented on the rumours that the model was now single, saying: 'This is completely 100% untrue. She remains in a happy relationship with Jason Statham.'

On a break? Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are reported to be taking time out from their relationship

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EXCLUSIVE: Cool FM, Beat FM to float TV stations

Chris Ubosi, CEO of Megalectrics and Amin Moussalli, CEO Globe Broadcasting and Communications Limited

Urban radio stations, Cool FM and Beat FM are spreading their tentacles into television as they float TV stations in the coming months.

According to NET investigations, Globe Broadcasting and Communications Limited who are owners and operators of Cool FM, Wazobia FM and Nigeria Info FM 99.3 are almost ready to kick off a television station, World Entertainment Television (WE-TV).

A staff of the organization who spoke to NET correspondent in confidence said that the management is still being discreet with most of the information as a few operations are yet to be put in place.

The source stated, ‘Plans to launch WE-TV have been on since last year. As a matter of fact, the first set of recruitment for the staffing of the station was had a few months ago. Depending on what the management decides, test transmission should begin before the end of the year.’

NET also gathered that some of the shows on radio will have TV versions when WE-TV begins transmission and will be hosted by the same hosts on radio. The management also hopes to create and own its own content too.

‘We are working on creating our own contents for the channel so that we don’t have to depend entirely on content providers’, an official told us over the weekend.

Run by Lebanese-born Amin Moussalli, Cool FM has since 1998 been one of the choice radio stations in Lagos.

Meanwhile, as part of its expansion, Megalectrics Limited, operators of popular urban radio stations, Classic FM, Beat FM and Naija FM are also gearing up to float their own television channel.

Although the management did not want to reveal much, an insider tells us that the details of the project are still under wraps, but what is certain is the interest of the organization to launch into television programming in the coming months.

‘For now, the plans are still a bit sketchy. We are all aware of the plan and the preparations that are being made but we are still unclear when the station will kick off’, an insider told NET.

Owned by Chris Ubosi, Beat FM started off in 2008 and now rivals long timers, Cool FM and Rhythm FM to become the leading urbane music station in Lagos and environs.

Since the establishment of the first television station in Nigeria, Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) in October 1959 in Ibadan and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) 1973, it was only until the 90s that a new wave of television stations began to emerge.

The launch of Galaxy Television in May 1994 registered the emergence of privately owned television stations which presently has increased greatly in number with most of them located in the commercial city of Lagos.

The most recent terrestrial television station, ONTV, owned by Tajudeen Adepetu’s Consolidated Media Associates (CMA), was launched in August 2011.

Lately, many media investors have become more interested in TV, with many favouring pay TV platforms.  Mo’ Abudu’s EbonyLife TV and Ayo Animashaun’s Hip TV are the most recent entrepreneurs towing the line.

With more than 30 terrestrial and satellite television stations, Lagos now has the highest number of television stations in a city in Africa.

For now, it is unclear if the new channels are going to go on terrestrial or satellite, but if and when these TV stations set rolling, they will join the leagues of organisations like Daar Communications (Raypower/AIT), Silverbird (Rhythm FM/STV), Murhi International (Star FM/MITV)and Continental Broadcasting Service (Radio Continental/TVC) who operate both radio and television stations in Lagos.

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Beverly is ‘happy and excited’ Angelo is coming to Nigeria

Looking inseparable: Beverly Osu and Angelo

The Big Brother – The Chase drama isn’t over  yet!

Beverly Osu probably has butterflies in her tummy right now as her boy-toy and fellow BBA edition eight contestant Angelo Collins will be heading to Nigeria in two weeks.

The South African contestant announced his trip on Twitter adding that he’ll be also be visiting another West African country, Ghana too.

‘Catching up on sleep maaaaan,its been a hectic but crazy weekend,next stop ghana,then nigeria…thanks to everyone who came out lastnite‘, Angelo announced on Twitter.

‘She’s happy and excited he’s (Angelo) is coming to Nigeria‘, a close friend of Bev’s tells NET.

The pair haven’t set eyes on each other (well, that’s counting out Skype and Facetime) since Beverly left South Africa three weeks ago.

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'I don't have time to deal with a wedding': How Miley Cyrus hinted at relationship woes weeks before split from Liam Hemsworth

The long speculated split between Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth was confirmed on Monday but in an interview conducted just weeks ago, Miley hinted she was getting cold feet about their wedding.
The 20-year-old singer admitted to Harper’s Bazaar that she doesn’t ‘have time to deal with a wedding right now’, a clear indication her engagement had hit a rocky patch. 
While representatives for both Miley and Liam confirmed to People that they have ended their relationship, Miley previously admitted the nuptials weren’t a priority for her and spoke about her stressful personal life.

'I don't have time for a wedding': Miley Cyrus (wearing Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane) hints at trouble in her relationship with Liam Hemsworth in new issue of Harper's Bazaar

She told the publication’s October 2013 issue:  ‘I definitely don't have time to deal with a wedding right now. But I will at some point.
‘I'm someone who cares about the real things in life. There are things that are personal that stress me out, but my career? That doesn't affect me. I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.’
The comments to the magazine were revealed just after it emerged Miley, 20 and 23-year-old Liam are on a break.

Wedding off? Miley talks about 'stress' in her personal life as she appears on the cover of the magazine dressed in a Burberry Prorsum dress

A source told RadarOnline: 'They’ve split for now. Miley and Liam have a very tumultuous relationship and both are exhausted. It’s a complicated relationship. The wedding is on hold, for now. It’s not cancelled but it doesn’t look promising.'
This weekend, Miley gave the clearest indication that her relationship with Liam had hit trouble, by unfollowing the Australian actor on Twitter.

Happier times: Miley and Liam have reportedly taken time out from their relationship to decide if they are better off apart

For Miley, who is an active Twitter user, this is the ultimate snub, however, Liam is still following Cyrus.
Meanwhile, Miley added to Harper’s Bazaar that her recent outrageous behaviour, which has included a now infamous performance at the MTV VMA awards, and getting naked in her Wrecking Ball video, is simply her enjoying a bout of immaturity.
She said: 'I was an adult when I was supposed to be a kid. So now I'm an adult and I'm acting like a kid.'

Final public appearance? Miley and Liam were last spotted together at the Paranoia premiere in Los Angeles in August

She offered advice to  former child star Lindsay Lohan, who has been in and out of rehab facilities in recent years, claiming the troubled actress will never be able to cut toxic people out of her life.
She said, ‘I'm like, “Honey, you're going to have to move out of this universe because everywhere you go there are toxic people.” ’
Miley also encouraged Justin Bieber to take a break so he can be ‘crazy’ in private.
 ‘I'm not saying you need to take a break because you're crazy. I'm saying you need to take a break so you can be crazy, and people aren't going to judge you. You're going to do dumb stuff from here on out. But do it in your own time. Do it safely. You can afford to protect yourself and still have fun.’

Start your engines: Miley Cyrus wears a sexy black strapless dress as she straddles a motorcycle in a new photo shoot for Harper's Bazaar magazine

Stunning: The We Can't Stop star also models an almost-bridal design, looking incredible in a beige gown featuring a long ruffled train

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Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth confirm they have split... as actor is pictured partying with stunning Mexican actress in Sin City

Liam Hemsworth and his fiancee Miley Cyrus have officially announced that they have ended their engagement on Monday.
Representatives for both the singer and actress, and Hunger Games star confirmed that the relationship was over to People magazine.
The announcement comes after Miley, 20, and Liam, 23, have endure several split rumours since getting engaged last year after dating for two years.

It's over: Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus officially confirmed that their engagement was over on Monday

Liam proposed to Miley with a 3.5 carat Neil Lane engagement ring in May 2012, and at the time the Hannah Montana star gushed about her future with the hunky Aussie star.
'I'm so happy to be engaged and look forward to a life of happiness with Liam,' she told People magazine.
The pair first met on the set of the 2010 romantic drama The Last Song, and began dating not long after.

Moving on already? Liam was spotted getting very close to Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez as they partied in Las Vegas over the weekend 

But in the last year, they have seemingly struggled with their relationship, breaking up and getting back together several times as each one continues in different directions of their careers.
And now as news of the split emerges, it seems that Liam may have already moved on.
Liam was seen getting very close to Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez, also 23, as he partied at VIP club Bungalow in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Flirting: The pair were seen flirting and gazing into each other's eyes in the VIP section of the club

Liam, along with about five male friends and a couple of ladies, including Liam's lady of interest, reportedly went to their VIP table near the DJ booth, but only for a few minutes before heading back to a more private VIP cabana near the pool.
Liam and Eiza are said to have never left each other's side during the night.
The pair reportedly enjoyed some drinks, Liam smoked a cigarette and they talked and flirted very close in the the VIP section of the club.
At one point, Eiza was seen sitting on a cabinet, flashing her legs in her short dress as Liam stayed standing, chatting to her and gazing into her eyes.

Attractive: Liam's attractive lady of interest showed off her killer body in a very short strapless orange dress

Handsome: The actor went casual in a plain white T-shirt, grey trousers and a unbuttoned black shirt

And it was no wonder why he was so enamoured, as she was showing off her killer body in a bright orange strapless dress teamed with sky high black patent leather stilettos and a gold choker necklace.
Meanwhile, Liam went casual for the outing, but looked handsome nonetheless in a white T-shirt, grey trousers and a unbuttoned black shirt.
According to reports, Liam and Eiza left the club together at 2am.
Earlier in the evening, the actor appeared in good spirits as he arrived at the Pre-Fight Party for the Floyd Mayweather fight in Sin City.

Bikini babe: Eiza was in Vegas the same weekend as Liam, living it up with some friends and posting pictures of herself partying poolside in a black bikini

Eiza was in Vegas the same weekend as Liam, living it up with some friends.
She posted pictures of herself on Twitter poolside on Sunday, posing in a bikini with a pal.
On September 11, the brunette beauty mused about her love life on her Facebook page, leaving a somewhat cryptic post about being in love with somebody that was in love with someone else.
'It must be very difficult to accept the fact that the person you're interested in lives in love with someone else #oops #goodluck! #whengoodisgood!' she wrote.

Saucy: The Latina star has posted several sexy selfies of herself on her Facebook page

It cannot be clear whether she was taking an apparent dig at Miley or perhaps referring to her own love life.
Eiza González Reyna is a Mexican actress and singer, and daughter of former model Glenda Reyna.
She rose to fame at the age of 16 with her portrayal of Lola, the lead character of Mexican telenovela, Lola...Érase una vez (Lola...Once Upon A Time)
She has since gone on to star in five Spanish television series and two movies, and is now a huge star in her native Mexico. 

Also single: Eiza recently broke up with her boyfriend Pepe Diaz, revealing the news on her Twitter account last month in August

She also lent her voice to the Spanish-speaking version of 2013 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film, The Croods.
González has also released two studio solo albums and two Telenovela soundtracks.
The spicy star is also single too, after announcing on her Twitter account in August that she broke up with her boyfriend of two years, Mexican entrepreneur Pepe Díaz.
'Let me tell you that I've been single for more than a month! I´m happy and closing this cycle because here comes an incredible one that is getting me very excited,' she tweeted at the time.

Huge Mexican fanbase: Eiza González Reyna is an actress and singer and a huge star in her native Mexico

According to a report in People Magazine - Latina, Diaz was rumoured to have cheated on the stunning star.
Before Miley and Liam confirmed their split on Monday, there were rumours swirling that the pair had decided to take a break.
It had been reported that the couple, who have had a tempestuous relationship over the past few years, had decided to postpone their wedding while they see if they are better off apart.
A source told RadarOnline.com: 'They’ve split for now. Miley and Liam have a very tumultuous relationship and both are exhausted. It’s a complicated relationship. The wedding is on hold, for now. It’s not cancelled but it doesn’t look promising.'

Look familiar? Miley is seen in a promotional image from her Hannah Montana days, left, while Eiza poses for a promo shot for her Mexican telenovela, Lola...Érase una vez (Lola...Once Upon A Time), right

Anything you can do: Miley flashes the peace sign in 2006, left, while Eiza does the same at an event in 2009, right

Last week Liam was forced to deny that he was canoodling with another woman at the Toronto Film Festival.
New York Post's Page Six reported that he was seen keeping company with an unnamed female after the TIFF last weekend.
Liam was at the popup club Bungalow 8 on the Thompson Hotel rooftop on the Saturday night when a brunette woman allegedly caught his eye, according to the newspaper.

She likes ink too: Eiza shows off her heart tattoo on her finger - a version of which Miley also has - as she poses on the red carpet at the the Premios Juventud in 2013

Just like Miley: Last month Eiza even donned a fake Panda head with a friend for one photo op, captioning the snap 'Miley Cyrus Style! Jajajaja'

Goofing around: She accompanied the snap with a Tweet

A source is quoted as saying: '[Liam was] locking lips with a random brunette...They left together.'
Page Six reported multiple witnesses 'confirmed his smooch with the mystery woman.'
However, when Liam's spokesperson was contacted by Page Six they insisted the story was not true.

Controversial: Miley's recent antics include an infamous performance at the MTV VMA awards with Robin Thicke

And again: Miley also goes completely naked in her most recent video for Wrecking Ball

The representative said: 'There is no truth whatsoever to any of this.'
News of Miley and Liam's split comes after the singer, 20, revealed in an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine that she 'doesn't have time' to plan a wedding.
She said: 'I definitely don't have time to deal with a wedding right now. But I will at some point.'
Miley added that her recent outrageous behaviour, which has included a now infamous performance at the MTV VMA awards, and going naked in the Wrecking Ball video, is her enjoying a bout of immaturity.

Forgetting his relationship woes: Liam appeared in good spirits as he attended the pre-fight party for the Floyd Mayweather fight in Las Vegas earlier in the night on Saturday

Hunky: Liam happily obliged to interviews as he walked the red carpet

She said: 'I was an adult when I was supposed to be a kid. So now I'm an adult and I'm acting like a kid.'
This past weekend, Miley gave an indication that her relationship with Liam had hit the skids, by unfollowing the Australian actor on Twitter.
For Miley, who is an active Twitter user, it was the ultimate snub and a seemingly public declaration that there was trouble in paradise.

Awkward: Liam and Miley were last spotted together at the premiere of his movie Paranoia in August

  

Miley and Liam's relationship has been under the microscope recently with endless reports that the pair split up and then rekindled their relationship numerous times in the last 12 months.
In February, it was rumoured that Liam got 'hot and heavy' with January Jones at a pre-Oscar party.
January was linked to Liam again earlier this month when it was claimed he was sending saucy texts to the Mad Men actress.

Where it all began: Liam and Miley met on the set of the 2010 romantic drama The Last Song

Red carpet couple: The pair cut a dazzling duo at the CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute in 2011, left, and the 2012 Australians in Film Awards & Benefit Dinner, right

According to Us Weekly, he 'fired off a graphic, sexual text message' to January that reportedly said, ‘I want to F**k you.'
Although Liam denied the story, it’s been claimed he had been looking for a way out of his  relationship with Miley. 
A source told Us Weekly, ‘They're just weeks away from calling it off permanently. Liam feels very distant emotionally from Miley these days.'

The early days: Miley and Liam are pictured going shopping together in Beverly Hills at the beginning of their relationship in 2010

The couple were last seen walking the red carpet as a couple in early August , when Miley supported Liam at the premiere of his new Paranoia in Los Angeles. 
However, witnesses revealed they ‘acted like strangers’. 
‘Miley and Liam acted like they didn't even know each other the entire night,’ a source said. ‘She was wearing her ring but they acted as if they were strangers.
‘[Their kisses] were awkward and he didn't seem into them.’ 

Parting ways? It is not known whether Miley will be returning her 3.5 carat Neil Lane ring to the handsome actor

Miley and Liam attempted to quash split rumours Aug 2013

Linked: Liam was linked to Mad Men actress January Jones in February and earlier this month was forced to deny reports he's been 'sexting' her

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'It's old news, me and my accent': Michelle Dockery admits she is bored of Downton fans' shock over her estuary accent

She's won international acclaim for her portrayal of Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey.
However, actress Michelle Dockery admits she is getting fed-up of people expecting her to have a posh accent in real-life.
The 31-year-old grew up in a working class home in Romford, Essex, but speaks in cut-glass English for her portrayal of the widowed Lady Mary.

Back for more: Downton Abbey and Allen Leech pose in a photoshoot for Radio Times magazine

Out of widow's black: Michelle will spent a lot of Series 4 dressed in mourning for her character's husband Matthew

Speaking to the new issue of the Radio Times: 'I'm an actress. That's my job yet people are surprised when I don't sound like Lady Mary.
'It's old news, me and my accent, but it always seems to make headlines.'
Fans of Michelle may well have read about her upbringing as the daughter of a home care assistant mother and van driver father, who later became a surveyor.

More than just in-laws? There has been speculation Tom Branson and Lady Mary may fall for each other in the new series

Eyeing a musical episode? Allen said there weren't any plans for a singing episode of Downton... just yet

The full interview is in the new issue of the Radio Times, on sale Tuesday 17 September

Although Michelle is also a jazz singer, while her on-screen mother Elizabeth McGovern has a band, she urged fans not to expect a musical episode of Downton any time soon.
Her co-star Allen Leech, who plays Lady Mary's brother-in-law Tom Branson, said: 'You want to know when you can expect a musical of Downton Abbey. The answer is: not just yet.'
In the upcoming fourth series of Downton, Lady Mary is struggling to adjust to life as a widowed single mother to baby George following the death of husband Matthew (Dan Stevens).
Reflecting on the fact both her on-screen baby and the royal baby is called George, Michelle admitted: 'The day we saw the headlines with the name of the new Prince was an amazing moment, I couldn't believe it as first, but the royal couple are fans of the show, so who knows..?'
The full interview is in the new issue of the Radio Times, on sale Tuesday 17 September.
The new series of Downton Abbey returns to ITV1 on Sunday 22 September.

Bonding over their grief: Michelle as Lady Mary with son George and Allen as Tom Branson with baby Sybbie

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Lib Dems wage war on motorists: Minister says cars should be banished from town centres and shoppers encouraged to use public transport

Transport Minister Norman Baker said drivers should be hit with big increases in parking charges

Transport Minister Norman Baker said drivers should be hit with big increases in parking charges

Cars should be banished from town centres, a Liberal Democrat minister has claimed.
Transport Minister Norman Baker said drivers should be hit with big increases in parking charges so they are ‘disincentivised’ from parking near high street shops.
He renewed the Lib Dems’ war on motorists at a fringe meeting at his party’s conference in Glasgow.

Mr Baker admitted that higher parking charges could ‘damage town centres’ but he then claimed that pushing people onto public transport and bicycles would help revive the high street.
He told the meeting hosted by the CentreForum think tank: ‘I was in Southern Germany for a holiday a few years ago.
'I forget which town it was, but there were no cars in the centre at all.
‘The place was heaving with people spending money - and every single shop was occupied.’ 
Asked if that was his aspiration, he replied: ‘I think that can work.’
Mr Baker said he wants the government to give more cash to cycling schemes and public transport.
‘That works,’ he said. ‘Filling towns and cities with cars can’t work.’ 
Signalling that he would like to see swingeing rises in parking fees, Mr Baker added: ‘If we are doing everything to make sure towns are attractive for bikes and public transport, it’s right to say that cars should be disincentivised.’
Senior Tories made clear that Mr Baker has been agitating in government to ramp up parking charges but has been blocked by Conservative Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
A senior government source said: ‘Norman has been pushing for higher parking charges for some time.

Mr Baker said he wants the government to give more cash to cycling schemes and public transport

'It has been blocked and it’s not going to happen under this government. We don’t want to get rid of cars from town centres.’ Tory MP Peter Bone dismissed Mr Baker’s plans as ‘stupid’ and ‘clueless’.
He said: ‘In Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire we have kept our car parking free of charge because it has helped our businesses do well.
‘This is just the sort of madcap nonsense we have come to expect from the Liberal Democrats.
'I would congratulate Norman Baker on speaking his mind because it proves what stupid things his party says.
‘It must be very frustrating for sensible ministers to have to work with people who come up with completely clueless proposals like this.’

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Shameless treachery: Mr Cable is the most disloyal and dishonest politician of our times

Yesterday, Vince Cable delivered a speech at the Liberal Party Conference which for sheer bile was without precedent in modern times. No Cabinet minister has ever attacked the Government of which he is part in such vitriolic terms.

The wonder is that the dyspeptic Business Secretary should wish to remain a member of a Government dominated by a Tory party that he asserted has ‘reverted to type as the nasty party’, and which, according to him, practises ‘ugly’ policies based on the calculation that ‘fear trumps hope’. 
Mr Cable has regularly used Lib Dem conferences to lash the ‘hated’ Tories. But this speech went much further than the usual crowd-pleasing rant. It was a despicable assault on colleagues and on the Coalition’s record, delivered in tones of insufferable moral superiority.

Yesterday, Vince Cable delivered a speech which for sheer bile was without precedent in modern times. No Cabinet minister has ever attacked the Government of which he is part in such vitriolic terms

What he said amounted to the most shameless repudiation of the long- established doctrine of collective responsibility we’ve ever seen. Next week’s Labour Party conference will not produce anything to rival in sheer unpleasantness any of Mr Cable’s broadsides.
The day began with the expectation that he would embarrass his party leader, Nick Clegg, by refusing to vote for a motion endorsing the Coalition’s economic policies. His aides had intimated on Sunday that the great man had reservations.
Most people might expect the Business Secretary to support the economic measures for which he has been responsible, but they would be underestimating his chronic disloyalty and innate love of rocking whichever boat he happens to occupy.
In the event he did bring himself to vote for the motion, though not without telling journalists later that he had harboured misgivings. His behaviour was justly described by an ally of Mr Clegg as another example of his ‘endless vanity and gross insubordination’.
Mr Cable had reserved his greatest bombshell for his speech in which he berated the ‘Tea Party Tories’ for their views on immigration and Europe, while castigating them for their ‘ludicrous war on windmills’ — by which he means ugly, inefficient and ruinously expensive wind farms.
His hatred of the Tories reached its apogee when — unbelievably — he blamed them more than the Labour Government for ‘the biggest market failure of our lifetime’ — ie, the Great Crash of 2008.
Labour had admittedly ‘fallen asleep at the wheel’, but it was ‘the Tories’ friends and donors who were also at the heart of the greed and recklessness which lay behind that disaster’.

Mr Cable had reserved his greatest bombshell for his speech in which he berated the 'Tea Party Tories' for their views on immigration and Europe, while castigating them for their 'ludicrous war on windmills'

Isn’t this crazy? I mean, really crazy? The Conservatives, who had been long out of power, are held responsible by Vince Cable (a former Labour Party member, by the way) for causing the financial crash simply because some of the bankers who helped to bring it about were allegedly Tory supporters and donors.
Forget the fact it was Labour, not the Conservatives, which chose wildly to de-regulate the City; Labour that knighted Fred Goodwin, the reckless head of RBS; and Labour that gave a peerage to the scarcely less misguided Lord Stevenson, chairman of HBoS, which crashed in 2008. Labour was the friend of the big banks and it was Gordon Brown who boasted of the huge revenues he was milking out of institutions built on sand.
But then, by Mr Cable’s logic, one might as well arraign the Lib Dem financier and multi-millionaire Matthew Oakeshott for having precipitated the crash. Lord Oakeshott is Mr Cable’s busy right-hand man, who yearns to see his hero installed as leader of the Lib Dems and was twerpishly calling for Nick Clegg’s resignation only the other day.

Crazy talk?: The Conservatives, who had been long out of power, are held responsible by Vince Cable (a former Labour Party member, by the way) for causing the financial crash

And perhaps, to follow the loopy trajectory of Mr Cable’s argument, the Lib Dems should renounce their own rich donors for having caused the crash — not forgetting the multi-millionaire fraudster Michael Brown, now serving a seven-year sentence in jail, who gave millions of pounds to the party that it has never returned.
Throughout this unhinged onslaught on the Tories, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, stared at Mr Cable as a couple of psychiatrists might observe a problematic patient on day release who has veered off-piste. They each managed an encouraging half-nod from time to time.
It was notable, too, that the party rank-and-file, who were supposed to be roused to hysteria by this feast of Tory-bashing, were little more than politely lukewarm. There were also a surprising number of empty seats.

What kind of man can sit at the same Cabinet table with colleagues whose party he has described as 'nasty' and 'ugly'? Only a man who wants to hang on to power at all costs

If Mr Cable is in the process of being disowned not only by the leadership of his party but also by some activists, does it matter if he chooses to launch a public attack on Cabinet colleagues? I’m sure it does, for unfortunately this sanctimonious rabble-rouser can’t be written off.
In the first place, he’s not wholly a busted flush politically. As a minister he may be ineffectual — he is fortunate to have acquired a capable number two in the shape of Michael Fallon, a Tory — but he still exerts an influence on Lib Dem policy.
More than anyone else in his party, he has been the champion of the mansion tax, which, according to a recent study, is likely to affect owners of houses well below the £2 million threshold envisaged by the Lib Dems if it is going to yield their target of £1.75 billion.
Owners of quite modest houses on even more modest incomes may find themselves drawn into Mr Cable’s net. I can think of several elderly couples living near me who would be unable to pay the proposed annual 1 per cent levy and in old age would have to leave the houses in which they have lived for many years.
It is, in fact, a tax almost as mad as the Business Secretary’s speech — but that does not mean it won’t one day become law. Mr Cable’s dream, of course, is to team up with Labour as Chancellor in a Lib-Lab Coalition while playing the part of the Liberal Democrat’s new leader.
Don’t rule it out. He will be 72 by the time of the next election, and after yesterday’s performance even Labour could be having second thoughts about having such an unreliable man as a partner, but Vince Cable could be the face of the Lib Dems after May 2015, if Mr Clegg is sacked as leader or loses his parliamentary seat in the General Election. 
The greatest danger that he poses, though, is right now. The doctrine of collective responsibility rests on the notion that governments can’t function properly if its leading lights are at one another’s throats in public. Previous coalitions have observed this convention.
If Mr Cable were honourable, he would have long since resigned so he could criticise the Government from the backbenches. What kind of man can sit at the same Cabinet table with colleagues whose party he has described as ‘nasty’ and ‘ugly’? Only a man who wants to hang on to power at all costs.
He should resign, but he won’t. David Cameron can’t sack him and Nick Clegg daren’t. The presence of a virtual fifth columnist in the Cabinet, seeking to undermine policies that even other Lib Dems accept, is obviously not conducive to good government.
Yet there is perhaps a silver lining. Why is Mr Cable expressing his hatred for the Tories so bitterly at this time? Because he can’t bear the fact that economic recovery is under way as a result of Tory-inspired austerity measures against which he has sniped relentlessly for the past three years.
Of course, it would be a boon for the Coalition and the country if he went. But there is a countervailing compensation in his staying. The more Vince Cable wheedles and whinges, the surer we can be that the Coalition’s economic policies are finally working.

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