Off His Face

SO far the War on Terror has lacked the celebrity element that would get us all sitting up and really taking notice.

But things are changing. And as we read the Star’s story about how five-year-old Hannah Edwards had her passport application rejected because she was showing her shoulders in the photo, something the paper says may offend Muslims, a story in the Sun catches our eye.

Hannah is not alone. Indeed she now has a champion to fight her corner. He is Pete Doherty, saviour of the western press and scourge of what tabloids will surely come to call the passport Taliban.

Due to headline a show in Ibiza, Pete was forced to cancel. The Sun says he had lost his passport; the Star says it expired when he was in rehab. Whatever the reason, Pete needed a new one.

But in the race to get the paperwork completed in time, Pete failed to read the rules and submitted photographs of himself in the incorrect mode.

A source who saw the pictures says: “Pete’s head was leaning forward. It looked like he was nodding off.”

This is clearly pickiness on the part of the border guards. Rather than lowering the rules Pete is raising the bar, producing photographs that not only show his face but explain his character and general demeanour.

For his pictures, Pete could dress up in a tuxedo and sit with back erect, steely eyes staring straight ahead, but the snaps would fail to capture the essence of the person. They would be less than useless.

Pete is ahead of his time. And the visionless authorities rejected his passport application. And that meant Pete was unable to travel to Ibiza and play.

This is a disappointment. But at least now the War on Terror has a celebrity face – and if you crane your neck you can almost make it out…

Posted: 15th, August 2006 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink