The Week - UK (2021-02-13)

52 The last word

THE WEEK 13 February 2021

Inthesummerof 19 84,

shortlyafterRobert

Maxwellbecametheowner

oftheDailyMirror,the

newspaper’stheneditor

MikeMolloybumpedinto

apsychiatristfriend.How,

askedthefriend,was

Molloygettingonwithhis

newbillionaireboss,thenat

theheightofhisglobalfame

andpower?“He’spretty

eccentric,”Molloytoldhim.

“He’snoteccentric,”replied

thepsychiatrist, Tom

Pitt-Aikens.“He’smad.I’ve

gotpeopleinsidewho are

lesscrazythanhim.” To

illustratethepoint,Pitt-

AikensaskedMolloyif

Maxwell had agroupof

executiveswho were bitter

rivals,answeringonlyto himdirectly?Molloy saidthat hedid.

Didhemicro-managetrivialmatters,butleaveimportant

decisionsdeliberately vagueandthenblameotherswhenthings

wentwrong?Again,Molloyadmittedthathedid.“Howdoeshe

treathisfamily,”askedPitt-Aikens.“Like slaves,”Malloyreplied.

“Theman’s offhishead,” saidPitt-Aikens.“He’llendup bringing

hiswholeempire downaround him.”AsforMaxwell himself,

Pitt-Aikenssuggested:“He’llprobablydie unexpectedly, perhaps

insomesortof explosion.” WhenMolloymentionedthat

Maxwell had always wantedto leaveagreatheritage for hisseven

children,Pitt-Aikensofferedapredictionofhis own.“He’llleave

nothingtothem,”hesaid.“Just ashes.”

Hisprediction would provestartlinglyaccurate.Sevenyears

later,Maxwell,bythen 6 8,woulddie unexpectedly,fallingfrom

his yachtinmysterious

circumstances.And,just

as Pitt-Aikenshadforeseen,

Maxwell’s family–and his

employeesworldwide–would

be left with nothing.Maxwell

wasonce theowner ofavast

media empire encompassing newspapers, publishinghouses,

TVstations andfootballclubs. Buthis fall fromgracewasalong

time in themaking. By the time ofhisdeath,hehad become,

personally,increasinglyeccentric andisolated. Hewasnot only

abankrupt, with vast debts, but alsoafraud,who hadplundered

£350mfromthe Mirror’s pensionfunds.

In July 1990, Robert Maxwellflewto Berlininhis private jet.

At his side wasa26-year-oldwomannamed Andrea Martin. In

recentmonths,he hadbecome increasingly dependentonher,

making herhisPAandshoweringher withgifts. “In Maxwell’s

eyes shecould do no wrong,”rememberedthe Mirror’s former

foreign editorNick Davies.“Hecametorelyonher to runhis

diary, hisbusinesslife,hisofficeand his staff.” Asabonus,

accordingto formerMirroreditor Roy Greenslade, shewas

“good-looking, blonde, well-dressed,cool, efficient and

apparentlyunflappable”.It

wasn’tlongbeforeMaxwell

hadgivenAndreahis

personalAmExcardtouse

whenevershesawfit.For

oneofherbirthdayshe

presentedherwithashiny

newBMW.

SoonAndreawas

accompanyingMaxwell

everywhere.Onlongflights,

theywouldevenliedown

togetheronhisGulfstream

jet’sdivanbed.Asfaras

Maxwell’sbutler Simon

Grigg wasconcerned,“it

wasclearthathewas in

love”.Maxwell’swife,

Betty,fromwhomhewas

semi-estranged, realised,

too,thathe was besotted.

HewouldcallAndrealast

thingatnight towish her good night and first thingin the

morning tocheckshehadslept well.

Unknown toMaxwell,AndreaandNickDavies had beguna

relationship. Whenhe learntofthe affair,allhellbroke loose.

Oneof the Mirror’ssecurity stafftipped Daviesoff that hewas

nowa“marked man”:Maxwell hadordered thatheshouldbe

followedroundtheclockbyone teamofprivatedetectives,while

another followedAndrea.Every detailof theirmovementswas

reportedbacktoMaxwell.He also orderedenquiriesto be

madeaboutthe flatnextdoor toAndrea’shome inLondon’s

Docklands.“Thesecurity staffwereorderedtopurchaseit,drill

holesinthe walland installcameras tospyon her,”saidDavies.

Oneevening,MaxwellaskedAndreato marryhim.Shewas

dumbstruck –justshakingherheadand saying,“No”, recalls

SimonGrigg.She quitherpostsoonafter.

Aboutafortnightlater,Davies

wasat workwhen Maxwell

phonedtoask ifhe would come

to hisapartment.Shown tohis

roomby amaid, he found his

bosslying onhisbed inawhite

dressinggown,watching TV. First,Maxwell complained ofacold

which hecouldn’tshakeoff. Thenhe walked over toawindow.

Ashe stared out, he startedtalking,asiftohimself. “Everything

Itry,peopleturnagainstme,” he muttered. “I’ve gotnofriends,

nooneIcanturnto. SometimesIthinkIshouldend it all, throw

myself outofthe window.Isometimes feelIcan’tgo on.”

In thesame monthas Maxwell wasflyingtoBerlinwith Andrea,

ashortparagraphappeared in theLexcolumn of theFT. The

daybefore, Maxwell CommunicationCorporation(MCC) had

published itsannual report. On thesurface, itappeared tooffer

good newsto shareholders. Buttheauthorofthe column wasn’t

convinced.Whatthe report failed to takeintoaccountwasthat

interest paymentsonthecompany’s debtswere continuing torise

farmore quickly thanMCC’sprofits.Nor were theprofits allthey

seemed.In an attemptto nudge the figures as far as possible into

Thelast days of

Robert Maxwell

Maxwell with the Lady Ghislaine: seeking refuge from mounting problems

Inthemonthsbeforehissuddendeath,RobertMaxwellbehavedincreasinglystrangely.Inanextractfromanewbook,

JohnPrestonwritesthatthemediatycoonwasbesottedbyhisPA,£1bnindebtandrevertingtochildlikehabits

“EverythingItry, people turn against me,”

Maxwell muttered. “SometimesIthinkIshould

throw myself out of the window”

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IRRORPIX; AGIP/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES