MP Seely’s romance with young comic ends in tears

WHEN I disclosed in January that Bob Seely’s much younger girlfriend, Iona Stewart-Richardson, had become a stand-up comic, the Tory MP described her as ‘the funniest woman I know’.

He may be less of a fan of her new material.

For I hear the Old Harrovian, 56, has broken up with willowy Iona, 29. And the split sounds highly acrimonious.

‘Bob and I parted ways for the best and for a number of reasons,’ Iona tells me. ‘Sadly, I am not able to be his friend.’ She suggests he already has a new love in his life, adding: ‘I wish him the best of luck with his new relationship.’

Iona, who claims to be distantly related to Scottish nobility, caught Seely’s fancy (pictured inset left), after moving to his Isle of Wight constituency about three years ago when she worked as a news reporter.

Iona refers to Seely as her ‘old man friend’ throughout her stand-up comedy set, confiding: ‘I had to go to one of these chamber of commerce events. On my way in, an old man immediately smacked me on the a**e.

‘The second thing was a woman went up to my man and said, “Oh, it’s so wonderful what you’re doing for the business community”, took one look at me and went, “You must be so proud of your father.” ’