Sir Peregrine Worsthorne has complained to Spectator editor Matthew D’Ancona, after the magazine edited his review of the late Bill Deedes’ biography to remove all references to its proprietors, the Barclay Brothers, the Guardian’s diary column has claimed.

Worsthorne’s review of Stephen Robinson’s book included a number of references to the Telegraph and Spectator owners, described by Deedes on his deathbed as a “stinking mob”.

“I thought it was a scandal,” Worsthorne tells the Guardian. “The choice was that all reference to the Barclays had to come out or the review would not run.”