By Jo Macfarlane

PUBLISHED: 17:05 EST, 31 March 2012 | UPDATED: 17:13 EST, 31 March 2012

Downsizing: Francis Maude and wife Christina have put their sprawling home on the market

With its elegantly landscaped gardens, butler’s pantry and tennis court, there is certainly plenty of space on this 12-acre estate to store a spare jerry can or two.

This is the £1.5 million country pile being sold by Tory minister Francis Maude, who sparked panic last week by urging motorists to hoard petrol to avoid running out – and instead prematurely ensured the fuel pumps ran dry.

Queues formed at petrol stations and ‘No Fuel Left’ signs went up as worried drivers followed Government advice to keep their tanks topped up after a strike vote by tanker drivers.

Mr Maude weighed in with the message that keeping ‘extra fuel in a jerry can’ would be a ‘sensible precaution’.

But after the fire service responded to the suggestion with anger and astonishment his advice was overturned, leading to calls for him to resign.

The millionaire MP put his sprawling country property on the market apparently after realising his new neighbours were glamour model Katie Price – formerly known as Jordan – and Grammy Award-winning singer Adele.

Mr Maude’s nine-bedroom mansion, said to be a fine example of late Arts and Crafts architecture, has been up for sale for the last couple of months.

It has been claimed that the millionaire MP and his wife Christina are keen to down-size now that their five children have flown the nest.

After all, it must take a lot of work to maintain the extensive property, which also boasts a game larder, separate lavatory for the gardener, an orchard and an eight-acre paddock with sweeping views of the South Downs.

But it may not be a coincidence that Ms Price, 33, paid £2.5 million in 2010 for a property which happens to share a substantial border with the Maudes’ home.

The reality television star moved in last July following her split with cage fighter Alex Reid.
Locals in the sleepy hamlet of Dial Post, West Sussex, say the arrival of Ms Price has ‘lowered the tone’, with her gaudy pink Land Rover causing particular irritation – quite apart from the constant presence of camera crews.

Meanwhile, London-born Adele has been renting a £7million, ten-bedroom former convent a couple of miles from the Maude family home. She moved in earlier this year.

The singer, 24, who swept the boards on both sides of the Atlantic at the recent Grammys and the BRIT Awards, has claimed the mansion – which is set in 25 acres of grounds and has a helicopter landing pad – might be haunted.

Luxury lifestyle: The extensive country pile boasts a game larder, separate lavatory for the gardener, an orchard and an eight-acre paddock with sweeping views of the South Downs

The picturesque area has long attracted wealthy families seeking extensive country properties because it has good transport links into central London.

But it has also recently become popular with celebrities keen to escape the city and enjoy the privacy of a country retreat.

Mr Maude, 58, a former director of investment bank Salomon Brothers, bought his home in 1996 for £342,500 and stands to make a substantial profit of nearly £1.2million from the sale.

It is built in the local ‘Wealden’ style, according to the estate agents, and made of oak, iron and clay.
The reception rooms are described as ‘elegant, yet homely’ and there is an ‘impressive staircase’ that leads to a galleried upper landing.

All the bedrooms have stunning views of the surrounding countryside, although the master bedroom is said to enjoy the most spectacular outlook.

There is the requisite oil-fired Aga in the kitchen, which has plenty of room for ‘informal meals’, many storerooms throughout the house – perfect for storing the occasional fuel container – and five boxes for horses adjacent to the paddock Mr Maude was originally refused permission to claim expenses on the mortgage in 2004 because his country home was classed as his main residence.

He later bought a flat in Kennington, South London, on which he successfully re-claimed £35,000 worth of mortgage interest payments on expenses.

Mr Maude is currently Cabinet Office Minister with responsibilities for crisis management, and Paymaster General.

His father, Angus Maude, served as Paymaster General in Mrs Thatcher’s Government.
Asked about the sale of the Maude family home yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Maude said that he had never employed a butler or a gardener, and that he did not need a butler’s pantry or gardener’s lavatory.

He added that the family used the game larder for general storage purposes.

‘Mr Maude and his wife are downsizing now their five grownup children are leaving home, and are seeking a smaller property,’ the spokesman said.

Red Len’s right-hand man... the hardline ‘Member for N Korea’

By GLEN OWEN

Extreme views: Andrew Murray, a Communist party member who has paid tribute to Stalin, is a key figure in the union threatening a fuel strike

An activist with hardline Communist views is a key figure in the union threatening to paralyse Britain in a fuel strike.

Andrew Murray, right-hand man to Unite leader ‘Red Len’ McCluskey, is a Communist party member who has paid public tribute to Stalin.

He is nicknamed the ‘Member for Korea North’ for expressing solidarity with the totalitarian Asian regime.

Mr Murray is Unite’s Chief of Staff. The union is threatening to call a strike by its tanker driver members in a dispute over pay and conditions.

In comments that have only just come to light, Mr Murray justified attacks on police in  last summer’s riots and was sympathetic to the actions  of suicide bombers.

A video passed to The Mail on Sunday shows Mr Murray addressing a rally of the Coalition of Resistance, a Left-wing group formed to protest against the Government’s spending cuts. 

In the speech made last August before the riots had been quelled, he dismisses claims  that the disturbances were led by criminals in search of loot. 

He said: ‘They don’t attack police stations to get a pair of trainers or a plasma TV. They do it because they are angry about the police,’ adding that violence happens ‘because of class’ and ‘because of power in our society’.

The militant also spoke of the 7/7 London suicide bombers, saying: ‘I have always taken the view that if people  commit a crime like blowing themselves up on the Tube – if they say it’s because of what we are doing in Iraq – it probably is because of what we are doing in Iraq.’

Mr Murray, who is said to be  ‘extremely bright’, previously worked for the Soviet Novosti news agency. On the 120th anniversary of Stalin’s birth  in 1999, he said the dictator’s murderous policies were merely ‘harsh measures’.

Union colleagues say that  Mr Murray believes former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ‘sold out’ by dismantling communist rule; and he is said to have called the pulling down of the Berlin Wall a ‘fatal mistake’.

In 2003, he spoke of the British Communist party’s ‘basic position of solidarity’ with North Korea.

The revelations will prove a great embarrassment to Ed Miliband. Unite, which has 1.8?million members, has given Labour £20?million in the past five years. Its backing helped to ensure Mr Miliband beat brother David to the party leadership.

Unite leader Mr McCluskey, 61, is said to be the most militant union leader since Arthur Scargill and has threatened to return Britain to the industrial strife of the Seventies.

A Unite spokeswoman said last night: ‘Mr Murray helps the union operate on a day-to-day basis. He has nothing to do  with the tanker dispute.

‘Mr Murray’s remarks were made in his own capacity.’

Fuel panic may be good, said PM

By SIMON WALTERS and GLEN OWEN

'Resilience': David Cameron is determined not to be 'held to ransom' by striking tanker drivers

David Cameron told shocked Ministers ‘a bit of petrol panic may be no bad thing’ as he set out his determination to defeat the threatened strike by fuel-tanker drivers.

According to senior sources, his provocative remark was made at the end of a Cabinet meeting last Tuesday that was dominated by the dispute.

Mr Cameron told Ministers that he refused to be ‘held to  ransom’ by Unite, the union leading the strike call.

Asked if the Prime Minister had said ‘a bit of petrol panic may be no bad thing’, a Downing Street spokesman initially said he had ‘no recollection’ of any such remark, before denying the comment was made.

However, Cabinet sources told The Mail on Sunday Mr Cameron did make the comment.

In a powerful rallying cry to Ministers, Mr Cameron said it was vital to build up the nation’s ‘resilience’ to a walkout by tanker drivers. Measures  included training more Army drivers to replace tanker drivers and finding other ways of keeping petrol stations open.

It was after hearing Mr Cameron’s powerful intervention that Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, one of his closest allies who is tasked with leading the contingency plans, issued his notorious call to the public to fill jerry cans with petrol as well as topping up their cars.

Within hours, his advice had been overturned after the Fire Brigade raised concerns about health and safety implications.

By Wednesday, the panic anticipated by Mr Cameron and his team became reality as millions of motorists rushed to fill up.

But the Government went into reverse gear yesterday, telling drivers not to fill up their cars.

The U-turn came after union leaders said there would be no strike before Easter. Conciliation service ACAS will tomorrow host talks between the union and the fuel distribution companies in an attempt to resolve the deadlock over working conditions.

• A mother who suffered 40 per cent burns to her body while decanting petrol in her kitchen was being kept in a medically induced coma last night. Diane Hill was ‘critical but stable’ at Pinderfield Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where she has had skin grafts. The 46-year-old from York was pouring fuel into a jug to top up her daughter’s car when vapours were ignited by fumes from the gas hob on which she was cooking.

By Kirsty Mccormack

PUBLISHED: 20:59 EST, 24 March 2012 | UPDATED: 21:03 EST, 24 March 2012

She was recently named Foxy Bingo's Celebrity Mum of the Year, so it may come as a surprise that Katie Price's boyfriend is said to have been cautioned by police recently.

Leandro Penna was given the warning after he allegedly threw a champagne bucket at a female while on a night out with 33-year-old Katie.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Leandro  became agitated with a group of party-goers after one of them harrassed his girlfriend and the argument ended with Chevonne Taylor being struck.

The 30-year-old was enjoying a night out at Brighton club Madame Geisha, when one of the party spotted Price sitting in the booth next to them.

'One of our group, Yasmin, went over to try and get a picture taken with her,' Chevonne explained. 'Katie didn't want to talk to her, but Yasmin's only 18 and is a huge fan so she kept asking.'

Following this a dispute broke out and Chevonne claims that her friend was arguing with Katie's group after one of them claimed a glass had been thrown at them.

However, Chevonne said this was 'rubbish,' and instead a glass was thrown in their direction hitting one of her friends on the head.

'She was really upset so I went over and demanded to know who'd thrown it,' she said. 'I noticed Mr Penna, although I didn't know who he was then.

Night out: The incident is said to have occurred at Madame Geisha in Brighton

'He was staring at me and shouting aggressively. One of my friends tapped me on the shoulder. I looked round and felt a painful bang on the back of my head. I saw the ice bucket bounce off me and smack Lisa in the face.'

Being the bride-to-be, Lisa was in tears according to Chevonne, as she was worried her face would be bruised for her big day.

The brunette reported the incident to the police and is now considering a civil case against Leandro.

'I want him to realise that he can't behave like that,' she added.

While a source close to Katie has claimed that the former glamour model was in another part of the club at the time of the alleged incident, Sussex Police have confirmed that they did investigate 'an allegation of assault' at the bar and 'have cautioned a 26-year-old man for common assault.'

The MailOnline is awaiting comment from Katie's spokesperson.

Papers filed: Katie Price

She divorced her second husband Alex Reid this week, but yesterday Katie Price started legal proceedings against her first, Peter Andre.

The model is suing her ex, alleging that he misused personal information about her.

Katie, 33, names Peter, 37, her ex-manager Claire Powell, CAN Associates Ltd and old friend Jamelah Asmar in papers filed at the High Court over a breach of confidence.

She also wants an injunction.

They way they were: Katie and Peter in 2009  

A source said: “Katie has been trying to reach an agreement but it hasn’t happened amicably, so she has gone to the courts instead.

"She’s frustrated, but she hopes that they can all reconcile their problems soon.”

In 2011 Katie – now dating Leandro Penna again – paid an undisclosed sum to Peter and apologised after he sued her for defamation.

Her spokesman confirmed she was taking action.