Bercow v Bercow was the unexpected result from last week’s general election as Stephenson Harwood man allegedly falls for charms of speaker’s wife
The latest unlikely legal profession Romeo has been revealed as commercial litigation partner Alan Bercow of City-based shipping specialist practice Stephenson Harwood.
He allegedly features in a torrid tale of high-powered bed-hopping behind the back of his cousin, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.
Alan was at the centre of a media storm over the weekend, when first the Daily Mail and then much of the rest of Fleet Street reported that he had engaged in pre-election hanky-panky with Sally Bercow, his cousin’s wife.
Both Sally and Alan’s own wife — also reported to be a lawyer — are said to have confirmed the affair. It is understood that Alan and Sally cuddled up on the sofa in the latter’s Battersea, south-west London gaff to watch Newsnight election coverage.
All while John — who remained in House of Commons digs — was slogging around his constituency in Buckingham, bidding to keep his seat. It may be cold comfort relative to the personal trauma in his family life, but John increased his majority by 17%, pushing the UKIP candidate to a distant second place.
Sally achieved yet more notoriety two years ago — in what has been a fairly notorious time at Westminster — when the late Lord McAlpine sued her over an “innocent face” tweet following unfounded suggestions that he had been involved in the sexual abuse of children.
Meanwhile, 57-year-old Alan is now reported to have given Sally the boot and returned to his wife.
Having qualified in 1983, Keele University graduate Alan Bercow has worked his way up to the higher echelons of the law and is now promoted by the old-school firm as being a leader in civil fraud cases, co-heading the firm’s fraud and asset tracing group.
According to the Stephenson Harwood website, Alan Bercow “has extensive experience of high value, complex international fraud cases”. It adds:
“He was a lead partner on the litigation between BTA Bank and Mukhtar Ablyazov and has recently acted on a six-week fraud trial in the High Court by the liquidators of a hedge fund against its former directors. He is particularly experienced in obtaining and defending interim injunctions, including world-wide freezing injunctions, disclosure orders, anti-suit injunctions and gagging orders”.
Clearly, Alan will be wishing he could have picked up one of those footballer-style gagging orders — aka, super injunctions — before the tabloid reptiles came calling.