Hugh Grant hits back over Sajid Javid handshake row
Actor Hugh Grant has defended himself from allegations that he is elitist by not shaking the hand of chancellor Sajid Javid.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, Javid said the actor refused to shake his hand at the premiere of Martin Scorcese film The Irishman earlier this month.
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Javid said the actor told him he would not shake his hand because of how the chancellor handled the phone hacking scandal when he was culture secretary.
Javid said: “I think that is incredibly rude.
“I wonder if people like Hugh Grant think they are part of the elite and they look down on working class people no matter what station they reach in life.”
The comments sparked an angry Twitter response from Grant, who gave his side of events.
Grant said he told Javid: “If you don’t mind, I won’t shake your hand because you were rude and dismissive to the victims or press abuse when you met them as culture secretary.
A spokesperson for Grant added: “Hugh would like to point out that the victims in question were not celebrities.
“They were people with personal family tragedies who had been abused by sections of the press.”
Grant has been a leading figure in calling for stricter press regulations in the wake of 2011’s phone hacking scandal.
He has been a prominent donator to press regulations group Hacked Off and became a public spokesperson for the campaign.
He made a testimony at the Leveson Inquiry into the practices of the UK’s press, claiming the Mail on Sunday had hacked his phone.
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Javid was culture secretary between 2014 and 2015.
He announced in 2015 that the government would not impose press regulations on the industry.