Recession? What recession? There were no empty seats at the British Council for Offices annual black tie shindig which filled the Great Room of the Grosvenor House to bursting.

It was hosted by BCO president Mike Hussey, whose former company Land Securities has just been tipped by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to outperform in any upturn, and he seemed keen to emphasise the end of the recession, how well the office sector had survived it (never mind those low, low City rents) and how it was poised to take off again any minute now.

After the Peking duck, lobster bisque, guinea fowl and chocolate tart, long-suffering property folk were entertained to a tour-de-force by comedian Marcus Brigstocke. After a disclaimer of any knowledge of property matters, Leftie Brigstocke ended his gig by saying how annoying he found it “to see so many of you here”, adding, “it's a testament to how crooked you must be…” How they laughed!

What Tiger is to monogamy...

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin isn't happy at government plans for police to recruit teenagers under the legal drinking age and pay them to go into pubs, under police supervision, to see if they get served. Describing the strategy as “entrapment”, he writes in Wetherspoon News: “This Government is to common sense what Tiger Woods is to monogamy.”

Getting so sordid at Epstein trial

Prince Andrew's old friend and former Bear Stearns star trader, Jeffrey Epstein, is plumbing new depths as he attempts to fight off over a dozen writs from young women who claimed he sexually abused them at his Florida home where the Prince has been a visitor.

Already accused of aggressive questioning of witnesses during hearings, a Florida judge gave lawyers representing Epstein the right to subpoena abortion records from women who are seeking millions in damages from him.

The judge said the files could help Epstein to refute the women's claims that they suffered psychological ills after being paid to give him sexually charged massages at his mansion when they were as young as 14.

Epstein, 57, who pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting prostitution, served 13 months of an 18-month sentence. He befriended Prince Andrew in the late Nineties, holidaying with him — and the Prince in turn invited him to shoots at Sandringham and a party with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Now, as women who claim they were coerced into providing sexual services underage begin their suits, Epstein's charming lawyers are racking up the pressure on them by focussing on their own — often, it has to be said — tawdry, private life.

While quizzing a woman identified as Jane Doe 4, Epstein's legal eagles offered a glimpse into how they intend to use the abortion information. Attorney Mark Luttier asked: “I want you to tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury whether or not aborting three foetuses is more traumatic than giving a man a massage in the nude?”

It's all a long way from the days of Wall Street, Sandringham and Windsor Castle…

News Corp-Google advert spat

No sign of the war between News Corp and Google ending as Rupert Murdoch's company prepares to launch internet pay walls for its newspapers. Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson has fired another salvo at the search engine “over their attitude to advertising and advertisers”.

Says Thomson: “One of the mantras that one hears chanted by the Googlies is that traditional ad agencies should join them in courting large clients, combining the best of the agency's creativity with Google's technical expertise. A very senior person at a leading agency explains that they took the Googlies at their word and jointly approached a well-known client. But, lo and behold, according to this executive, shortly after the Googlies contacted the client themselves and attempted to cut out the agency.”

... and Thomson of the Journal isn't holding back on the diplomatic front. The Aussie who spent nearly two decades working in London, reaching, in 2002, the vertiginous heights of Times editor, also complains that American journalism schools are “politically correct and value vacuous, citing social purpose as the purpose and yet violating the basic principle of reporting, which is that we should genuinely have the objective of being objective”. Thomson even has a go at veteran Watergate scoopmeister Bob Woodward, who works for the rival Washington Post. Says Thommo: “While he is certainly better looking than me and no doubt intelligent, he is a rather ponderous, even lugubrious sort, with the manner of a Hollywood villain. He is no Robert Redford.”

America's most trusted news channel is... er, Fox

PR supremo Matthew Freud set the cat among the pigeons when he criticised Fox News, the right-wing news channel owned by his wife Elisabeth Murdoch's father Rupert, but American viewers don't agree. According to a survey of US viewers by Public Policy Polling, 49% say they trust Fox News, 37% say they don't. CNN does next best at a trust:no trust spread of 39/41, followed by NBC at 35/44, CBS at 32/46, and ABC at 31/46.

More muck from the Commons

The credit crunch really has taken its toll at the Bank of England. When deputy governor Paul Tucker was talking to the Treasury Select Committee this week about banks failing, he used the choice phrase “when the shit hits the fan”. Says City Spy's man in the Commons: “It took the Hansard stenographer rather by surprise.”