Married Tory Lord Ed Vaizey’s name appears on birth certificate of Saudi Arabian political analyst’s baby

• Mr Vaizey has been married to Alexandra Mary-Jane Holland for 19 years 
• But his name has appeared on Najah Al-Otaibi’s daughter birth certificate

It is the curious case of the married Tory peer, the ex-wife of a BBC newsreader… and a mysteriously amended birth certificate.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that former minister Ed Vaizey’s names appear on the official document recording the birth of Saudi Arabian political analyst Najah Al-Otaibi’s daughter.

In a move guaranteed to set Westminster tongues wagging, Najah, 41, who split from newsreader Tim Willcox after two years of marriage, named her Victoria Vaizey Edward Al-Otaibi – containing a reversed version of Edward Vaizey.

It should be noted that the former MP for Wantage, Oxfordshire, is not specifically named as the father.

Adding to the mystery, that box was left blank by Najah, who often appears on BBC news programmes.

Lord Vaizey did nothing to quell speculation when approached by a reporter last week. Asked if he was the father, given his names appear on the certificate, even if in reverse, he replied: ‘I am not going to make a comment.’

As Arts Minister, he was associated with the so-called ‘Notting Hill set’ of West London-dwelling Tory modernisers who served under then-Prime Minister David Cameron. Others included George Osborne and Michael Gove, who was later his best man.

Vaizey has been married to solicitor Alexandra Mary-Jane Holland for 19 years. Previously he was in a relationship with Esther McVey, now a Tory MP.

Vaizey and Najah are involved with the Saudi British Society and appear to have attended the same networking reception in July 2022.

Najah joined in 2020 as a trustee and runs the society’s social media accounts, focusing on ‘various aspects of Saudi culture’.

Vaizey’s name didn’t appear on the original December 2022 birth certificate but was added a year later, just two days short of the official cut-off point for forenames to be changed. A father’s permission is needed to be officially named on a birth certificate.

Najah did not respond to calls last week though she was spotted strolling with her baby in a pushchair near her flat in Notting Hill.

She married Willcox, 18 years her senior, in 2019, but left him two years later in what was described by friends as an ‘acrimonious’ split. 

Willcox hit the headlines in 2012 when he had an affair with his fellow married BBC presenter Sophie Long.

Oxford-educated Lord Vaizey worked for the Tory MPs Kenneth Clarke and Michael Howard as an adviser on employment and education issues. 

He practised as a barrister in family law and child care before becoming an MP.