The feral beast: Sky’s cloudy on BNP

When the names of 12,000 BNP members were posted online, Sky News breathlessly reported the sacking of talkSPORT presenter Rod Lucas as "the first casualty of the media storm". Strangely, Sky is less excited when I point out that one of its own senior employees is also on the list. "We consider an individual's political affiliations to be a private matter," grunts a spokesman. Never mind that in the BNP entry he appears to boast about working for Sky, cheerfully offering to give advice.

Sam's fired up for the future

Former 'Daily Telegraph' literary editor Sam Leith wasted no time after being made redundant on Tuesday, posting a notice on Gorkana, the PR and journo website, saying he is "looking for freelance commissions and permanent work". But perhaps samleithfired@ googlemail.com may not have been the best choice of email for a new career. Leith was told his job at the 'Telegraph' no longer exists, which is odd given the subsequent announcement that what sounds very much like his old job has been given to Brian MacArthur. MacArthur should do well at Telegraph towers – he has written a book called 'Surviving the Sword'.

Oz is not so wizard for d'Ancona

Matthew d'Ancona, right, hailed the launch of 'Spectator Australia' as "but Phase Two of a programme of world domination". Could young Danks be getting ahead of himself? The Oz version of the weekly mag works by stripping out the front half of the UK edition and plonking articles about Australian politics and culture in their stead. The Beast hears British expats down under are less than enthusiastic. "The whole point of getting 'The Spectator' is to keep abreast of goings-on in Britain," simmers one. Oh dear.

No way to step up to the plate

High jinks at the 'Sunday Mail' Sports Awards on Thursday, where late in the evening the newly appointed group managing director Mark Hollinshead lost his motor skills and sent a table flying, taking poor HR director Lesley Somerville with it. The table, being glass, came off worse but left Somerville needing immediate medical aid. "Yes, Mark took a tumble and took the table with him," says a spokesman. "It was an unfortunate end to the evening." Bottoms up!

Style book squabbles

One obstacle to integration of 'The Guardian' with 'The Observer' has been the agreement over house style. After much agonising on whether to finally accept the split infinitive, they are, The Beast learns, no closer to an agreement. The new joint style guide was due to be presented to staff at a lunch last week but had to be cancelled suddenly that morning. A new date for the presentation has yet to be announced.

' Guardian' shares bunny venue

Cocking a snook at the recession, the entire staff of Guardian News and Media are invited to a Christmas party at the trendy Flower Cellars in Covent Garden. Let's hope they get the date right – anyone there the following Thursday will find themselves in a Playboy Winter Wonderland, promising "intimate areas for your pleasure". So much for the bra-burning efforts of the Guardian sorority.