IS HE in training for yet another Rolling Stones tour or was he just very anxious to get home? Sir Mick Jagger left a Christmas party in unusual fashion - by karate-chopping his way through the crowd of photographers assembled on the pavement.

Sir Mick, 65 was a guest at the home of the public relations guru Matthew Freud. The son-in-law of Rupert Murdoch and one of the most powerful publicists in the business, Freud had no trouble attracting a celebrity crowd, among them the newly divorced Guy Ritchie.

Politicians who attended included Lord Mandelson and the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. There was no sign of the current mayor, however. That might - or might not -have been due to Boris Johnson's decision last month to axe a contract with Freud Communications which was costing taxpayers £108,000 a month. It is not known if Mr Johnson was invited to last night's event.

One onlooker suggested the party was somewhat "dress down", perhaps with guests taking heed of the financial crisis. The exception was singer Lily Allen whose striking dress had a cobweb back.

Ritchie, 40, the film director whose publicity since his divorce from Madonna has been handled by Freud, wore faded jeans and a V-neck sweater. He is one person who has avoided the worst effects of the credit crunch, having received a divorce pay-off of between £35 million and £50 million, depending whose "friends" are to be believed.

Also at the party was Jemima Khan who, according to reports this month, has met Ritchie before, at a dinner party thrown by Mr Freud, again at his Notting Hill home.

Also there on that occasion was Trudi Styler, who first introduced Ritchie to Madonna. Which is presumably purely a coincidence.

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