Amanda Staveley Convinces Media She is Melanie Sykes

Amanda Staveley has gone, media perception-wise, from a no-mark in the annals of royal girlfriends to the ultrababe who locked down the Arab-Barclays deal and received a £40m commission. In between all the deal making, she also seems to be able to find time for one almighty press push, from which we the public seem to have learnt precious little except that she’s superb at flirting with male hacks.

After journalistically fellating Nat Rothschild the other week, the Evening Standard’s Chris Blackhurst once again whacks the fawning up to full power for the “truly incredible” Staveley.

“Obviously, although she doesn’t say so, her looks help. But there is more to it. She has no side to her, she isn’t grand but straightforward and very direct. They clearly like that. She also claims to do exactly as she promises, never stitching anyone up, never letting anyone down.”

Debatable, Blackhurst, considering she played Mephistopheles in the bargain that allowed Barclays to get out of the strictures of government bailout cash, set to cost shareholders £3.2bn. The deal also means that Barclays bosses get to keep paying themselves mega-bonuses. So there may be some who would argue with your painting of a snow white Staveley.

The Mail has her as a Yorkshire lass/maverick – “She never tried to conceal the echoes of her Yorkshire accent and [Prince Andrew's] friends got used to her calling them ‘Luv’…she was not cut out to be a passive princess carrying out official duties and keeping her opinions to herself”. With predictable sexism, they continue to focus on the Prince Andrew connection rather than her business achievements, and this after their outraged news piece about the deal. In the Mail’s world, only men are fit for business profiles – this little woman is for drooling picture-led puff pieces about her love life. Which is great for Staveley – she doesn’t have to worry about genuine probing or questions of accountability.

The Times continues the theme of the bluff Northerner, a woman “who does exactly what she promises, has no airs or graces and calls interviewers ‘love’ and ’sweetheart”’.

These profiles seem to reveal only one thing about Staveley – that she is intelligent enough to know that she can manipulate press hacks to have her presented, after a few “sweetheart’s”, as a harmless, charming anachronism: a funny Northerner doing her gooey Northern things. Better that than as ruthless and money-drunk.

Kudos to the Guardian though for even-handedness, and picking up on her reality-defying statement: ”It is not about money – it wouldn’t matter if I was making £8m or £200m.”

Melanie Sykes would never say that!

Update: thanks to ‘Lord Dacre’ for the kind tip…

Posted by Ben Beaumont-Thomas in Hot Money | November 10, 2008 2:03PM |