'They've cashed my cheque, but I haven't yet got my card through,' he was overheard telling friends at Soho's Quo Vadis restaurant last week.
'Anyway I mentioned this at a rather smart lunch party at the weekend and no-one had heard of the place,' he said.
'It's not exactly Colin,' says one senior IPR staffer, 'but it may come in handy when we need a place to host events.'