Tag: Winston Churchill

A morning walk to Iskcon and a £1.3 billion hotel: Inside the Hinduja’s ‘landmark’ project

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Hinduja brothers, co-chairmen of the Hinduja Group, have embarked on a new hospitality project in the heart of London. They have converted former Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s former war rooms in Whitehall into a lavish hotel and residences complex, with a total investment of £1.3 billion.

The idea to repurpose this historical site into a hotel struck the brothers during a morning walk after visiting the nearby Iskcon temple. Looking to build a legacy, the brothers paid heed to this almost divine thought and acquired the rooms.

“We always used to walk in St. James’ Park. We were looking for something unique to make it a destination to serve where we are living and also to create a legacy which looks to us. We have done it. It took us seven years and today it is the talk of the town,” the Hinduja brothers told CNBC-TV18.

This impromptu decision led to a seven-year journey, culminating in the acquisition of the building for £374 million and an additional billion pounds spent on its transformation.

However, the hotel is only part of the story. The complex not only houses a luxury hotel with room rates ranging from ₹1,10,000 to ₹25,00,000 per night but also includes 85 furnished residences available for purchase, catering to a range of budgets.

The fully furnished properties are on the market for ₹4 crore for a one-bedroom flat, ₹8 crore for two bedrooms, ₹10 crore for three bedrooms, and starting from ₹17 crore for four-five bedrooms.

While the project’s location in Whitehall may not be the typical choice for a luxury destination, the Hinduja brothers have aimed to change that perception by collaborating with international brands like Raffles and offering a diverse range of dining and spa options, a first for the area. They aim to offer a diverse range of restaurants and spa facilities, redefining the concept of luxury in this historic district.

With almost half the residences already sold, the Hundujas’ vision is well on its way to becoming a landmark development, breathing new life into this historic London district.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Winston Churchill’s Old War Office to be reopened by Hinduja Group as luxury hotel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The century-old multinational conglomerate Hinduja Group has collaborated with Raffles Hotels and Resorts to transform The Old War Office (OWO), once used by Britain’s World War II-era Prime Minister Winston Churchill, into a luxurious hotel in the heart of London. The grand opening is scheduled for September 26.

Sanjay Hinduja, who is overseeing the project, mentioned that his team was amazed by the sheer size and beauty of the majestic building at Whitehall. He emphasised that no expense had been spared to restore it to its former glory and pay homage to its heritage while infusing it with new life. The aim is to create a timeless and unparalleled legacy with Raffles London at The OWO.

The Hinduja Family acquired this building, which is located opposite Downing Street, over eight years ago in partnership with  Raffles Hotels to convert it into an extravagant destination featuring residences, restaurants and spas.

The Old War Office has a rich history and has witnessed world-changing events, hosted by Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. Its grand architecture has been featured in James Bond films and Netflix series ‘The Crown’.

Also read: Reliance Industries partners with Oberoi Hotels to co-manage three hospitality projects

Accor Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin said that the renovation involved the restoration of historic interior elements, delicate hand-laid mosaic floors, oak paneling, glittering chandeliers and a magnificent marble staircase. The OWO offers 120 guest rooms and suites, signature dining experiences by chef Mauro Colagreco and entertainment spaces, including a grand ballroom.

The historically significant parts of the building are the Heritage Suites, which were once the offices of political and military leaders. Some of these suites will be exclusively available as “The Whitehall Wing”, a six-bedroom suite in the west wing of the building that can accommodate up to 12 guests, making it one of the largest luxury hotel wings in London.

The transformed OWO features 85 residences by Raffles, contributing to the building’s reimagining as a new culinary district for London, complete with nine new restaurants and three bars, including a rooftop with panoramic views of Buckingham Palace.

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Felling of slave trader statue prompts fresh look at British history

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The toppling by anti-racism protesters of a statue of a slave trader in the English port city of Bristol has given new urgency to a debate about how Britain should confront some of the darkest chapters of its history.

The statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading in West African slaves, was torn down and thrown into Bristol harbour on Sunday by a group of demonstrators taking part in a worldwide wave of protests.

Statues of figures from Britain’s imperialist past have in recent years become the subject of controversies between those who argue that such monuments merely reflect history and those who say they glorify racism.

By taking matters into their own hands, the protesters raised the temperature of a debate that had previously remained confined to the realms of marches, petitions and newspaper columns.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the removal of the statue was a criminal act.

“The PM fully understands the strength of feeling on this issue. But in this country where there is strong feeling, we have democratic processes which can resolve these matters,” the spokesman said.

But others countered that such processes had failed to recognise the pain caused by the legacy of slavery.

“People who say – authorities should take statues down after discussion. Yes. But it isn’t happening. Bristol’s been debating Edward Colston for years and wasn’t getting anywhere,” said historian and broadcaster Kate Williams on Twitter.

“Personal affront”

A street and several buildings in the city are still named after Colston, and the plinth where the statue stood bears the original inscription from 1895, which praises Colston as “virtuous and wise”.

The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said he did not support social disorder, but the community was navigating complex issues that had no binary solutions.

“I would never pretend that the statue of a slaver in the middle of Bristol, the city in which I grew up, and someone who may well have owned one of my ancestors, was anything other than a personal affront to me,” said Rees, who has Jamaican roots.

Bristol police said they made a tactical decision not to intervene because that could have caused worse disorder.

“Whilst I am disappointed that people would damage one of our statues, I do understand why it’s happened, it’s very symbolic,” said police chief Andy Bennett.

Even Britain’s wartime hero, Winston Churchill, was under renewed scrutiny: a statue of him on Parliament Square in London was sprayed on Sunday with graffiti that read “Churchill was a racist”.

Churchill expressed racist and anti-Semitic views and critics blame him for denying food to India during the 1943 famine which killed more than two million people. Some Britons have long felt that the darker sides of his legacy should be given greater prominence.

These debates in Britain echo controversies in the United States, often focused on statues of confederate generals from the Civil War, and in South Africa, where Cape Town University removed a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes in 2015.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Solid gold toilet stolen from Winston Churchill’s birthplace

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A unique solid gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit was stolen early Saturday from the magnificent home in England where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.

The toilet, valued at roughly 1 million pounds ($1.25 million), was the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It had been installed only two days earlier at Blenheim Palace, west of London, after previously being shown to appreciative audiences at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Police said the toilet was taken early Saturday by thieves who used at least two vehicles. Because it had been connected to the palace’s plumbing system, police said the toilet’s removal caused “significant damage and flooding” to the building, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture.

A 66-year-old man was arrested in the case, but he has not been identified or charged.

Inspector Richard Nicholls from Thames Valley Police said police believe the thieves left the spacious property about 4:50 am and that the toilet was the only item taken. Closed circuit TV footage is being studied in the investigation.

Prior to the theft, visitors to the Cattelan exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use the toilet. This had proved popular when the toilet was on display at the Guggenheim.

The artist intended the golden toilet to be a pointed satire about excessive wealth. Cattelan has previously said: “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise.”

Last year, the chief curator at the Guggenheim offered to lend the golden toilet to US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump when they asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private White House quarters. Curator Nancy Spector had been critical of Trump in social media.

Saturday’s theft also comes after Edward Spencer-Churchill told The Times newspaper that the golden toilet would not be very easy to steal since it was connected to the palace’s plumbing.

“So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it,” he said.

Thames Valley Police Detective Inspector Jess Milne said: “The artwork has not been recovered at this time but we are conducting a thorough investigation to find it and bring those responsible to justice.”

Blenheim Palace said officials are “saddened” by the theft but “relieved no one was hurt.”

“We knew there was huge interest in the Maurizio Cattelan contemporary art exhibition, with many set to come and enjoy the installations,” the palace said in a tweet. “It’s therefore a great shame an item so precious has been taken, but we still have so many fascinating treasures in the Palace and the remaining items of the exhibition to share.”

The building was closed to the public Saturday but the palace said normal operations will resume Sunday.

The stately home in Oxfordshire, 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of London, is popular with visitors and is occasionally used for special events including fashion shows and art exhibits.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Winston Churchill’s grandson to be expelled from Conservative Party after defying Boris Johnson

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Britain’s World War Two leader Winston Churchill, will be expelled from the Conservative Party after voting against Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit.

The move against the Conservative Party grandee marks one of the most bizarre turns in the three-year Brexit crisis that has gripped a country once touted as a confident pillar of Western economic and political stability.

Soames was one of 21 Conservative lawmakers who rebelled, including Ken Clarke, 79, the longest continuously sitting British lawmaker in the House of Commons, and former finance minister Philip Hammond. All are to be expelled.

When Soames was asked if this was the end of the Conservative Party his grandfather would have known, he said: “No. But it’s a bad night.

“It is a pity — a great pity — that this has in my view all been planned: this is exactly what they wanted and they will try to have a general election which is what they wanted.”

Since he took office as prime minister six weeks ago, Johnson has been ruthless: He oversaw one of the biggest purges of cabinet ministers in modern British history and has cut short a session of parliament to increase the likelihood Britain will leave the EU, with or without a deal.

After a defeat at the hands of an alliance of opposition lawmakers and rebels in his own party, Johnson‘s enforcers will speak to those who defied his order and expel them, a Downing Street spokesman said.

In total, lawmakers with more 330 years experience in parliament will be expelled from Johnson‘s party — the same party which lost its working majority on Tuesday.

“I have been told by the chief whip, who is my friend and who I like very much, that it will be his sad duty to write to me tomorrow to tell me I have had the whip removed after 37 years as a Conservative member of parliament,” Soames said. “That’s fortunes of war. I knew what I was doing.”

Soames, 71, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2014, has been a member of parliament since 1983 and previously served as a junior defence minister. He is the son of Mary Soames, the youngest of Churchill’s five children.

Churchill

Churchill occupies a special place in British culture as the victor of World War Two and by far the most powerful British statesman of the 20th Century — a ‘British bulldog’ who could hold his own with Josef Stalin and Harry Truman.

Johnson has repeatedly spoken of his admiration for Churchill, and in 2014 published a biography called “The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History.”

In the introduction, Johnson, then mayor of London, wrote: “When I was growing up there was no doubt about it. Churchill was quite the greatest statesman that Britain had ever produced.”

As a young boy, Soames said he was unaware of his grandfather’s significance and has recounted how, when aged five, he once visited Churchill in his bedroom and asked him: “Grandpapa, is it true that you are the greatest man in the world?”

Churchill replied: “Yes, now bugger off.”

Andrew Adonis, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said Churchill would have deselected from Conservative if it was run like it is now because he opposed then prime minister Neville Chamberlain attempt to secure peace with Germany’s Adolf Hitler a year before World War Two.

“Churchill himself would have been deselected,” he said. “Chamberlain bitterly attacked him for ‘undermining his negotiating position’ at Munich and there was a deselection attempt.”

A source close to the group who have voted against the government said Tuesday’s vote is the first step in a process to avert an economically damaging no-deal exit.

“No. 10 have responded by removing the whip from two former chancellors, a former lord chancellor and Winston Churchill’s grandson,” the source said. “What has has happened to the Conservative Party?”

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow