Desolate Cheryl Cole was last night considering whether to walk away from UK X Factor as bosses gave her a midnight ultimatum.

And she broke her silence about her sacking from the US show to say: “Why did Simon Cowell do this to me?”

Last night, still stunned at the speed of her US demise, tearful Cheryl was holed up in a secret location back in Britain.

The distraught star said she could not believe she had been fired from US X Factor after just four days of ­auditions. “I still haven’t been given a reason,” she told a friend.

Yesterday Cheryl was refusing to take calls from TV bosses demanding to know whether she will agree to be on this year’s UK show – which starts filming on Wednesday.

Cheryl Cole has apparently been sacked as a judge on The X Factor USA, fresh reports have suggested that the decision was out of boss Simon Cowell's hands.

Following news that Cheryl Cole has apparently been sacked as a judge on The X Factor USA, fresh reports have suggested that the decision was out of boss Simon Cowell's hands.

As we previously reported, the Girls Aloud star has allegedly been given the elbow by producers over her accent and "lack of chemistry" with fellow panelist, Paula Abdul, meaning that Nicole Scherzinger will now take her place on the show.


US Weekly have since obtained information that claims Cowell had "nothing to do with" Chezza's axe, despite the fact that the 27-year old was his top choice to judge the talent contest.

A source told the celebrity website: "It's true. She isn't on the show anymore. Everyone is gobsmacked. This came out of nowhere. She had already been tested countless times."

The insider added: "Simon had nothing to do with it. This is the network's doing."

A mole also told Deadline.com that bosses realised the dynamics of the US XF panel were not working, with The Flood singer reportedly being singled out as the "weak link."


They stated: "Nothing is definite now. But they do know it's not working, and they're trying to figure it out. She may be Britain's sweetheart but nobody knows her here."

Celebrities such as Dannii Minogue, Piers Morgan and Sinitta have all taken to Twitter to address Cheryl's rumoured departure, with funny man Russell Brand even ranting about her sacking on Daybreak.

Brand told viewers: "Our Cheryl? That cannae be right! Our Cheryl, kicked off X Factor? What, the American one? And I've come to this country in good faith and they've kicked Cheryl off, our Cheryl? Oh no! She's Britain's sweetheart."

Maria Shriver confronted her husband's mistress over suspicions she was secretly raising his love child,

Maria Shriver confronted her husband's mistress over suspicions she was secretly raising his love child, it has been claimed today.

The mother of four, 55, is said to have asked her family's housekeeper, Mildred Baena, 50, if her son was fathered by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

During the dramatic showdown, Baena broke down and confessed, according to America's Radar Online.

The Terminator star only came clean about the sordid affair after Shriver told him she new the truth about his 13-year secret, insiders say.


Housekeeper Mildred Baena is allegedly the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child

'Maria has suspected this for a long time and she asked the housekeeper,' a source told the website. 'The housekeeper admitted it.

'Maria then went to Arnold and he confessed.'

Insiders also claim Baena was not fired from her position with the family as previously reported.

'Yes, her employment ended, but it ended without animosity,' the source added.

'She was upset with Arnold at the time and didn’t know what to do, she thought about going public, but it was a fleeting thought. Ultimately she didn’t want to hurt Arnold.'

TMZ reported today that Arnold showered Mildred's family with money during her time in the family's employ.

 Internet reports claim that Mildred wanted 'to be just like' Maria Shriver, and would wear Shriver's clothes and jewellery

According to the website, the former Governor of California funded a lavish party for the daughter of Mildred's sister Maria - who also worked for the family.

Arnold and his family attended the Quinceanera - a traditional Latin 'coming of age' party where he made a speech telling relatives that he wanted to 'take care of' them as Mildred and Maria were so close to him for so many years.

According to the website, Mildred's son by the actor played with Arnold and Maria's children at the party.

Additionally, TMZ claims that Mildred was obsessed with former TV newswoman Maria and wanted to 'be just like her.'




Sources claim that the housekeeper would wear the former NBC presenter's clothes and jewellery and that after Maria left for work in the morning Mildred would 'climb into bed' with Arnold.

According to sources Mildred would go to Maria for advice on her love life and sought advice from her employer during her pregnancy - which coincided with Shriver's, it emerged yesterday.

Mildred Baena's son, believed to be the star's love child, was born on October 2, 1997, according to documents.


Suspicion: Arnie seen yesterday, the former Governor has put his film career on hold

The actor and his wife Maria Shriver welcomed their second son, Christopher, on September 27 that same year.

Baena and Shriver would have encountered one another daily while pregnant, with Baena working in the family home but living elsewhere.

Schwarzenegger and Shriver have three other children together: Katherine, 21, Christina, 19, and Patrick, 17.

30,000 Twitter users could face legal action over gag breaches

The attempt to use super-injunctions to gag the media in the internet age reached new levels of absurdity yesterday.

A Scottish newspaper became the first mainstream British publication to identify the Premier League footballer who is attempting to prevent discussion on Twitter about his affair with the former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas. Meanwhile it was reported that a High Court judge had referred an unidentified journalist to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, to consider a criminal prosecution for breaching a privacy injunction with a tweet about another footballer.

The move could potentially mean that criminal proceedings would be brought against 30,000 people who have broken one or other of the contested injunctions by tweeting in recent days the identities of those involved.

 

Pop princess Katy Perry was left fuming after Japanese officials deported her husband Russell Brand for his previous convictions

Pop princess Katy Perry was left fuming after Japanese officials deported her husband Russell Brand for his previous convictions that were over a decade old.

Writing on her Twitter page, the I Kissed a Girl siren said "My husband just got deported from Japan. I am so sad. I brought him all this way to show him my favorite place #tokyodreamscrushed.

It was for priors from over 10 years ago!... But of Course I (love) my Japanese fans & the show #Mustgoon no matter the daily aftershocks or husband kidnappings!"

Brand who is very open about his past, is making a name for himself in Hollywood, he jetted to the country as part of Perry's tour entourage but was allegedly held by immigration officials and subsequently expelled from Japan.

Perry makes her Hollywood debut later this year as the voice of Smurfette in the big screen adaptation of the Peyo classic The Smurfs. Directed by Raja Gosnell, The Smurfs comes to cinemas in 3D on August 3.

Meanwhile Brand is currently filming the Adam Shankman big screen adaptation of Rock of Ages with Julianne Hough and Alec Baldwin.

Newspaper publishes name of footballer with gagging order

The Sunday Herald, which is published in Scotland, took the decision as tens of thousands of people openly defied the courts to go online and name the married Premiership star, who is alleged to have had an affair with the former Miss Wales, Imogen Thomas.
One MP described the public backlash against the draconian gagging orders as the biggest act of civil disobedience for decades and said the law was now becoming a national joke.
On Friday lawyers acting for the footballer launched legal action against the US based website Twitter in an attempt to force the company to divulge the names of users who had breached an injunction.
But within hours of the move being announced, tens of thousands of people began posting his name online, openly taunting the judiciary and making a mockery of the legal system.
Yesterday the Sunday Herald, which is not bound by the terms of the injunction because it is published north of the border, intensified the row by publishing the footballer’s picture on its front page and naming him inside.

 

THE alleged mum of Arnold Schwarzenegger's lovechild with has been named by a US website.

Mildred Baena, 50, is claimed to have fallen pregnant with her son - now aged around 14 - while she was the former California governor's housekeeper.

A source told website RadarOnline: "She is the one."


She describes herself as a "proud parent" on a social networking site and says she's "dating or searching for a serious relationship."

Baena stopped working for Schwarzenegger in January after 20 years.

Her son is said to have been an occasional presence in the Schwarzenegger home.
Arnie's wife Maria Shriver last night broke her silence and told of her heartbreak over the baby bombshell.

The household staff member continued to work for the family for 10 years after the lovechild was born and Maria only discovered the baby was Arnie's earlier this year.

Maria said last night: "This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."



Political commentators last night spoke of their shock that Arnie ran to be California Governor in 2003 with this skeleton in his closet - and managed to keep it secret throughout his two terms in office.
Meanwhile a former stewardess on Arnie's private jet today denied he is the father of her son.

Tammy Tousignant, who was in her late 20s when she worked with the Terminator star, gave birth to a boy after an alleged affair in the 1990s.

But today her lawyer vehemently denied a romance and insisted that a DNA test had proved the actor turned politician is not the father of her child.

Arnie, 63, confessed to wife Maria after standing down as governor of California earlier this year.


Denial ... former stewardess Tammy Tousignant
His admission led TV journalist Maria, 55, to quit the family home in Los Angeles. And last week the couple announced they had split after more than 25 years of marriage in which they had four kids.
Arnie took financial responsibility for the lovechild from the start and it is claimed he continues to provide support.

He said: "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago."

Tammy's son Tanner, now 19, graduated from high school in Brea, California, last year.

A 2003 article claimed that at aged 11, the lad looked strikingly similar to Arnie. Tanner was the name of Schwarzenegger's character in Total Recall.

Via a Facebook message, he told a US website: "I'm not his son, don't waist your time. it was just a stupid story made up eight years ago [sic]."

Tammy's Twitter account shows she now runs a photography business and Arnie's wife Maria is among her 34 followers.

Lawyer Thomas Anthony claimed she previously had a paternity test to disprove rumours her son was Arnie's lovechild.

He said: "The Tousignant child was no 'lovechild' involving anyone other than the parents of the child, Tammy and her husband, Tom Tousignant.


"Arnold Schwarzenegger was not the biological father of the Tousignant child. All scientific tests confirmed that Mr Tousignant was the biological father of the child."

In his statement Arnie said: "I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family.

"There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologised to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."

Clarkson moves to save his marriage

He has laughed off claims of an extramarital affair with a colleague and poured scorn on Twitter allegations that he had a fling with Jemima Khan.

But it seems Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been enjoying a more bachelor lifestyle of late – and is spending time away from the family home.

The star has revealed in suitably hangdog tones that he has recently moved into an unfurnished flat, only weeks after news emerged of an alleged infidelity.

And writing in his regular newspaper column yesterday, father-of-three Clarkson, 50, was in reflective mood, discussing in self-pitying fashion the trials facing the undomesticated lone male.

It was a barely concealed sign to the world that ‘things’ really aren’t what they used to be.

Proclaiming, perhaps tellingly, that we are ‘all slaves to the lives we lead’, he debates whether to give up all of his possessions and wonders how to fill his empty flat.

He morosely ponders whether he will be able to wash his own dishes, which suggests he has never even tried. But he rejects buying a washing machine after confessing he has never used one and doesn’t ‘understand’ them.

He wrote: ‘So, when I moved recently into an unfurnished flat I spent the first evening sitting on the floor, wondering what is essential and what, really, is not.

‘Obviously I’d need a fridge and a cooker. But what about a dishwasher? Could I not wash the pots myself? I decided that I could. I also decided that I could do without a washing machine. Though this is mostly because I’ve never used one. I don’t understand them. They seem to make no sense.

‘So no. I’d take my clothes to the launderette and let someone in a nylon overall wash them for me.’

Tellingly, he did not reveal why he was living in the London flat rather than at the £2 million home he shares with his wife Frances in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

He goes on to decide he would ‘definitely’ need a television, coffee machine and a PlayStation, admitting: ‘I can’t really live unless I spend at least an hour a day shooting Nazi zombies in the face.’

The list is complete when he adds the ultimate bachelor necessity – pornography.

‘And I’d need some pornography as well, so that would mean I’d need an internet,’ he mused.

A judge who suffered a heart attack while walking in Snowdonia has thanked his rescuers, including RAF pilot Prince William

A judge who suffered a heart attack while walking in Snowdonia has thanked his rescuers, including RAF pilot Prince William

Retired Hong Kong High Court judge Nick Barnett, 70, of Midhurst, West Sussex, is recovering in hospital after the rescue from y Lliwedd mountain.

He said he was grateful to everyone who helped him.

The prince, who has delayed his honeymoon, flew him to hospital.

Mr Barnett received treatment at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, crucially within an hour of suffering the attack last Wednesday.

He also thanked a member of the Llanberis mountain rescue team who came to his aid with the RAF rescuers.

"The winchman did a wonderful job and the whole helicopter crew. You see all the TV documentaries about the air-sea rescue teams and it all looks hair-raising. Until it happens to you, you don't appreciate the skill and bravery they show," the judge said.

I didn't set out to be rescued by Prince William”

The judge, an experienced hill walker who has trekked in the Himalayas, became ill while walking with his son Giles.

"As I was being stretchered away from the aircraft I saw one of the pilots on the right-hand side looking at me and I gave him the OK sign with my hand," said Mr Barnett, who still sits in the Supreme Court of Brunei.

"He acknowledged me. Whether it was the prince I don't know. I didn't know he was aboard the aircraft until a nurse whispered to me in the emergency department that Prince William was on the helicopter.

"I didn't set out to be rescued by Prince William. I'd planned a nice day on the hills and to have a nice pint of beer in Betws y Coed where we were staying.

"Family and friends are all stunned by who saved me."

Police officers

The prince also took part in the rescue of a 46-year-old man stranded on Tryfan mountain on Friday.

The man had tumbled a short distance near the summit and it is believed he had dislocated his shoulder.

In another rescue on Wednesday, Prince William and his colleagues airlifted four men off Snowdon after one suffered vertigo.

The men, thought to be police officers from the West Midlands and in their 20s, were walking at 3,028ft (923m) on Crib Goch.

They were airlifted down from the narrow ridge in an area known as Crib-y-Ddysgyl - the scene of previous tragedies.

The prince and his new wife returned to Anglesey after a weekend away in the UK following their wedding on 29 April

Supermodel Kate Moss wedding to Jamie Hince will be like a small festival lasting for days.

Supermodel Kate Moss
The 37-year-old is set to marry The Kills rocker in a ceremony in Oxfordshire July 2 and wants to make it a memorable event, reports femalefirst.

"Kate wants it to be a party to remember and like a small festival," said a source.

"She doesn't want her guests to leave for days so she is making sure there is plenty of food and entertainment. Most of her budget will probably go on alcohol," he added.

Prince Harry leapt off a balcony before wedding

Despite acting as Prince William's best man when he married Catherine Middleton on April 29, the 26-year-old royal spent the night before having drinks at London's Goring Hotel, which had been booked out by the Middleton family in the run-up to the nuptials.

According to sources at the hotel, Harry and a group of friends - including Catherine's sister, Pippa Middleton and his on/off girlfriend Chelsy Davy - stayed up until 3am and the party only came to an end when Harry decided to leave with an athletic leap from a balcony which saw him land awkwardly on one ankle.

A source told MailOnline , "People were surprised to see him there so late before one of the biggest wedding days of the decade and even more surprised when he jumped off the balcony and landed with a thump.

"He had struggled to climb up the railings to get into position, so when he jumped over the edge he did so rather unsteadily and landed awkwardly next to a flower bed."

"He flinched for just a moment before he stood up, rubbing his ankle. Then he looked up, smiled and waved to a roar of cheers before disappearing on to the lawn where there was a secret exit."

The next morning, Harry could be seen walking awkwardly as he and William arrived at Westminster Abbey and it is thought it could be due to his fall from the night before.

Meanwhile, despite his on/off relationship with Chelsy, Harry was seen flirting with Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron at a polo match.

The pair laughed and joked together at the Audi Challenge Polo Cup at Coworth Park in Ascot, Berkshire, and an onlooker said, "They appeared to be getting on very well."

Ronnie Wood was named Music Radio Personality of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards last night

Ronnie Wood was named Music Radio Personality of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards last night (09.05.11).
The Rolling Stones guitarist was commended at the industry prize-giving ceremony after just a year of hosting his own show on station Absolute Radio.
The judging panel called the star: "An amazing character with a really innovative programme.
"Ronnie has lived the life of a thousand men and you feel like a child sitting at his feet as he unfolds his rarefied story book."
The musician collected his award shortly after British comedian Frank Skinner - who won the Best Entertainment Programme accolade for his eponymous show - and said: "This means more to me than it means to Frank, I think, because I'm the newcomer."
The majority of the awards were handed out by star presenters, including Geri Halliwell, Andrea Corr, Rachel Stevens and James Morrison.
James admitted listening to the radio played an integral part in his early career, telling BANG Showbiz: "When I hear my own songs on the radio now, it reminds me of being a kid and used to listen to the radio, dreaming of wanting to write songs and get on the radio.
"It reminds me of listening to Radio 2 on a Sunday with my dad. I have the radio on a lot at home in the mornings and it's a good rejuvenator for the day."

Ex-motorsports boss Max Mosley has lost his European Court of Human Rights bid to force newspapers to warn people before exposing their private lives.

The verdict in Strasbourg marked the final stage in his campaign for tighter privacy laws.

In 2008, the UK High Court awarded him £60,000 damages after ruling the News of the World invaded his right to privacy by reporting on his sex life.

Victory might have led to new privacy laws, which press bosses oppose.

Mr Mosley had argued financial damages could not restore his reputation following the front-page article and pictures about his meeting with five prostitutes in a London flat.

He pursued the case to the Human Rights Court, challenging UK privacy laws which allow publication without giving targets advanced warning.

He was aggrieved that he had not been made aware of the paper's intention to publish and so never had the chance to apply for an injunction to stop the story.

At the European court, lawyers for Mr Mosley, now 71, argued that money was not a sufficient remedy for the loss of a person's privacy.

They say newspapers should be made to notify the subject of a story before they run it.

This would give them time to seek a court order from a judge to stop the story being published.

Speaking before the verdict, Mr Mosley said once a story is out there - regardless of whether it is true or not - the damage is done

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Once they've published it, you can't un-publish it, you can't take it out of the public mind.

"And worse than that... you recover damages if you win; you get your costs awarded, again if you win; but the costs and the damages are less than the bill from your solicitor.

"So you get the whole publicity repeated again in open court, on top of which you get a very large bill."

Mr Mosley's lawyers said the failure of UK law to oblige newspapers to notify people before exposing their private lives violated the European Human Rights Convention, to which Britain is a signatory.

If judges had supported Mr Mosley's case, the government may have had to reinforce privacy laws, compelling editors to go to celebrities or public figures at the heart of a story before running it.

Freedom of expression
The move would have fuelled the row over the use of super-injunctions to protect certain people, usually celebrities, from the media spotlight.

The government has said current UK rules strike a good balance between the "right to private life" and the "right to freedom of expression".

Newspaper bosses say imposing "pre-publication notification" to toughen the "right to private life" would amount to a breach of the "right to freedom of expression".

Mr Mosley, the former president of the International Automobile Federation, had insisted his legal case did not threaten press freedom because "in 99 cases out of 100, if they (newspapers) are going to write something about someone of any great interest they will approach the person".

But the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lady Buscombe, said she had "real concerns" about the restrictions injunctions placed on investigating wrongdoing.

She told the BBC it would be a "diminution of our democracy, never mind our freedom of expression" if they could be gained every time somebody sought to block stories from being printed.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge go on honeymoon

Their romantic break was confirmed by St James’s Palace.
On Monday, the couple were seen leaving their Anglesey home with large amounts of luggage
One report claimed that they were heading for the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean.
Prince William and his new bride were expected to go on honeymoon on April 30, the day after their wedding attracted more than a million people to the streets of London.
However, the prince returned to work as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, while the Duchess was seen pushing a trolley around their local supermarket.

Human rights judges are due to rule on ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley's attempt to force newspapers to warn people before exposing their private lives.

The verdict in the European court of human rights in Strasbourg will mark the last stage in Mosley's campaign for tighter privacy laws following revelations of his sex life in the News of the World.

In 2008 the UK high court awarded him £60,000 damages after ruling that there was no justification for a front-page article and pictures about his meeting with five prostitutes in a London flat.

But Mosley pursued the case to the human rights court, challenging UK privacy laws that allow publication without giving their targets advanced warning.

His lawyer told a hearing in January that the failure of UK law to oblige newspapers to notify their "victims" before exposing their private lives violated the European human rights convention, to which Britain is a signatory.

The high court damages award did not restore Mosley's privacy, said Lord Pannick QC - but "prior notification" would have give him the chance to seek an injunction preventing publication.

If the Strasbourg judges support his case the UK government might have to reinforce privacy laws, obliging editors to inform celebrities about stories concerning them before they appear.

The move would not only fuel the row over the use of superinjunctions to protect celebrities and public figures from the media spotlight, but also add to calls for Strasbourg judges to stop interfering in UK interpretation of human rights rules.

Jemima Khan says she is ‘trapped in a bloody nightmare’ after false allegations on Twitter that she had an affair with Jeremy Clarkson.

The message claimed incorrectly that intimate photographs exist of her with the Top Gear presenter.

Writing on Twitter yesterday, she said: ‘I’ve woken up trapped in a bloody nightmare.


Jemima Khan, pictured outside her London home, has been hit by false accusations that she took out a gagging order to cover up a 'fling with Jeremy Clarkson'


Jemima Khan has received a text message from Jeremy Clarkson, seen out and about in Belgravia, saying: 'I'm sure I'd remember if any photos of us existed'


Jemima Khan took to Twitter to deny that she had taken out a super-injunction


After waking up to an escalating situation she tweeted about the nightmare she was having


Anguish: Jemima Khan now fears the effect it will have on her children


Responding to a journalist she expresses her fears over the false allegations

‘I hope the people who made this story up realise that my sons will be bullied at school because of it. Plus I’m getting vile hate tweets.’
The celebrity political activist said she was particularly concerned about her elder son, adding: ‘My 14-year-old would never talk to me again. He’s painfully shy and hates any fuss.’

Only minutes after the claims were published on Sunday, 37-year-old Mrs Khan denied having an affair with Clarkson, saying the allegation was ‘untrue and upsetting’.
Gagging law stars 'outed' on Twitter:
'He tries to portray he's a fantastic family man. I don't think a family man sleeps with escorts': Super-injunction farce as Rooney prostitute talks about married actor she slept with
STEPHEN GLOVER: These vile online lies only spread because judges are suppressing the truth
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Prehistoric judges and trial by Twitter
‘OMG – Rumour that I have a super injunction preventing publication of “intimate” photos of me and Jeremy Clarkson. NOT TRUE!,’ she tweeted.
A minute later she added: ‘I have no super injunction and I had dinner with Jeremy and his wife last night. Twitter, Stop!’
She added: ‘The proof that I haven’t got a super injunction is that the papers have printed my name (and no one else’s – for fear of being sued).’

The socialite received supportive text messages from both Clarkson and his wife Francie after the allegations emerged.
Clarkson used humour to dismiss the claims. In a text to Mrs Khan he said: ‘It’s odd. I’m sure I’d remember if any photos of us existed.’
Despite the denials of all concerned, some Twitter followers wrote yesterday that they still believed the allegations.
Mrs Khan is no stranger to the secret world of injunctions.
In March it emerged that she, her brother Zac Goldsmith and his former wife Sheherazade obtained injunctions from the High Court to stop sensitive emails obtained by a hacker from being published.

Andrew Marr's TV guests torment him over superinjunction

The journalist Andrew Marr must have longed, if not for a gagging order, at least for an actual gag, as guests on his own television show tormented him over the superinjunction whose existence he publicly admitted last week.

"It's a great week to hide an injunction story, say one wanted to," mused the actor Maureen Lipman, one of the guests invited to review the Sunday papers on the BBC1 news programme, as she surveyed the acreage of royal wedding coverage crowding out almost all other topics.

"You cheeky woman ... yes, this is true," Marr responded.

It was his first show since he revealed the existence of the injunction, which barred any coverage of his affair with another journalist and the child he believed was his own, or of the existence of the injunction. Marr said he had become "uneasy" as a journalist at having obtained it.

Chris Bryant, former Labour Europe minister, told the Observer the controversy would "hobble" his capacity as a journalist, as politicians and other interviewees could use it as an excuse to evade any probing questions.

Bryant said: "People will certainly look askance at him. He is not going to be able to ask the personal questions without people, including politicians, sticking their tongues out at him and saying 'superinjunction' and refusing to answer."

In the event Marr seemed more acutely embarrassed than hobbled as he returned to the screen five days after admitting that he had taken out the superinjunction.

Another of his guests, the historian Simon Schama, discussed with Lipman the profile in the Sunday Times headed "Old Jug Ears, daddy of the super-secret".

Marr conceded that "the superinjunction issue is not going to go away".

But he also described the Sunday Times profile as "a slightly disobliging piece but the worrying thing is the picture is both rather unpleasant and also entirely accurate, so there we go".

Schama said the issue of balancing the right to privacy against free speech was a big one: "It's obviously going to be something, presumably, parliament has got to consider."

Marr agreed: "It's something clearly parliament is going to have to look at again. MPs are going to have to look at this."

While the Andrew Marr Show focuses on parliamentary and policy issues, in recent years Marr has posed questions about the vexed personal lives of several prominent guests.

When John Prescott went on the show at the end of his career as an MP, Marr referred explicitly to the affair the former deputy prime minister conducted with a colleague.