While first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, wandered the antique shops in the trendy Portobello Road area, the outgoing president and his security entourage ducked into the Portobello Gold, where he tucked away $35 worth of cold lunch and half a pint of organic beer.
"They bloody well did not pay the bill," the Guardian quoted pub owner Mike Bell as saying. Quick to spot a front-page headline with a difference, the Mirror, a feisty left-wing tabloid, stepped in and forked out the money, plus tip. Bell's mood then lightened: "I wouldn't quite say [Clinton] did a runner," he said, using a slang term for leaving a store hastily without paying. "I just don't think it occurred to him to pay."
The tabloid added that "even the President of the United States sometimes has to be bailed out. The Mirror was happy to help." Clinton was wrapping up a flying visit to Ireland and Britain. He flew home Thursday night.
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