Melbourne socialite denied Alan Jones was at her party. But the pictures don’t lie

3 months ago 5

Always trust your gut.

Ann Peacock at a recent party, with Alan Jones in the corner.

When CBD spotted an elderly, balding gentleman in a garish powder-blue jacket lurking in the corner of an Instagram post by Melbourne PR maven and Victoria Racing Club board member and director Ann Peacock, our thoughts went instantly to disgraced broadcaster Alan Jones.

While the face of the bloke in the picture is obscured, he looked a dead ringer for the former radio host, who is facing court next year over indecent assault and sexual touching offences. Jones has kept a very low profile since the charges were first laid against him last year following an investigation by this masthead. But the aforementioned garish powder-blue jacket is one he’s frequently seen wearing.

So we contacted Peacock on Monday to learn more – and she denied it was Jones. When we suggested her party guest must be a very close doppelganger or stunt double, she insisted she had nothing more to say.

But her initial denial aged like spilt milk.

On Tuesday, Jones was spotted at Melbourne Airport in Virgin’s exclusive, invite-only Beyond Lounge, muttering into his phone about deceased former Labor senator Graham “Richo” Richardson. He was wearing, you guessed it, the garish powder-blue jacket. Sporting a cane, Jones then hobbled off to board a flight back to Sydney, where he lives, carrying a copy of Landslide, The Inside Story of the 2024 [British] Election.

Jones faces 27 sexual offence charges against nine complainants at public locations such as the Opera House and a lower north shore restaurant, as well as the 84-year-old’s various homes and former workplaces. He has denied all the charges.

Alan Jones arriving back in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.

Magistrate Glenn Walsh listed the local court hearing for August 3 next year, allocating four months to hear the 25 indecent assault charges and two sexual touching charges.

Under Jones’ latest bail conditions he is allowed to temporarily leave his home in Sydney’s Circular Quay if he notifies police 72 hours in advance of where he is going, and 24 hours in advance of when he is returning home.

Strike Force Bonnefin was established to investigate the former teacher and Wallabies coach following a major investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Perhaps Jones has finally lost access to Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s Lounge, and can no longer rely on the good graces of that airline’s former chief executive Alan Joyce to get him reinstated, as happened in 2023.

Either way, he clearly still has a few friends in high places. Peacock is Liberal Party royalty, the daughter of former leader Andrew Peacock and ex-wife of Victorian powerbroker Michael Kroger.

And also in attendance at the event was Sky News fire-breather and Tony Abbott’s once-feared chief of staff Peta Credlin, who baked the New York cheesecake and pavlova that Peacock gushed about in her Instagram post.

CBD gave Peacock yet another opportunity to explain herself: specifically, we asked her why she’d denied Jones was at her party when all the evidence is to the contrary. So far, we haven’t been taken up on it.

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