A new twist in Owen Jones’ ‘jacket-gate’ saga

There’s no such thing as a free lunch — and Owen Jones is quickly discovering that there’s also no such thing as a free jacket in a fashion shoot. The Guardian journalist has come under fire over his decision to model a £1,080 jacket while discussing the ‘collapse of capitalism’ with the men’s magazine.

While Jones has since dismissed the criticism as ‘surreal’, Mr S is sorry to report that there is further bad news regarding the pricey attire. The designer Jones is ‘modelling’ is Corneliani. The menswear label is owned by Investcorp (with the company purchasing a 55pc stake in Corneliani in 2016), which is a Bahrain-based private investment bank.

As an ardent campaigner against the Saudi regime, no doubt Owen will be concerned to hear that Investcorp prides itself on its connections to Saudi Arabia, with Investcorp Bank’s Executive Chairman Nemir Kirdar previously highlighting the firm’s ‘strong historical ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’:

‘Investcorp Bank has had strong historical ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since its inception in 1982.