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The gangster's daughter, the Tory millionaire and what could be the biggest divorce of our times; Happy ever after? Sarah, Marchioness of Milford Haven (above) and (top left) Michael Spencer and his wife, Lorraine.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Geoffrey Levy, Richard Kay

FROM his home in Zermatt, Switzerland, one-time East End hardman-turned-millionairebusinessman George Walker has been observing his daughter Sarah's social success in London with considerable satisfaction.

Like any father of a daughter who already has two failed marriages behind her one to Prince Philip's cousin, the Marquess of Milford Haven, no less it is hardly surprising that the former Billingsgate fish porter and gangland minder, now 79, has been anxious for Sarah, still glamorous at 46, to settle down.

Walker who still spends hours on the phone every day making financial deals is delighted that she seems finally to have found an ideal partner. Friends say he is 'really pleased' that she is seeing moneybroker Michael Spencer, 53, millionaire treasurer of the Conservative Party and considered to be the most powerful man in the City of London.

No one is talking of marriage, because although Michael and his wife Lorraine (who have been married for a mainly happy 25 years and have three children) are separated, they are by no means divorced.

But a close friend of the Walkers says: 'George would be thrilled if his daughter married him because he's the type of bloke he really admires.

It's got nothing to do with money or being an important Tory. That "toff" stuff has never bothered him when Sarah married the Marquess, all he wanted was for her to be happy, though he was never convinced she would be.

'What he likes about Spencer is that he's a self-made man and a tough operator like himself he's always thought Sarah was wilful and could only be really happy with someone who can control her. He thinks she may have found the right one at last.' In Tory circles, news of the liaison has added an unexpected frisson to party gossip. The treasurer remains remarkably relaxed and even jolly despite his personal fortune having collapsed almost...