Ministry of Sound boss James Palumbo and a peerage that will drag a family feud to the House of Lords Ministry of Sound owner James Palumbo, 50, was made peer yesterday But he's barely spoken to father Lord Palumbo, 77, in the past 30 years Entrepreneur joined with his sister Annabella in 1994 to sue their father By Mark Hollingsworth Nightclub boss: James - now Lord - Palumbo with his model friend Sasha Volkova in September 2011 Wags have already dubbed James Palumbo "Lord of the Dance" after the nightclub entrepreneur was made a peer yesterday. However, when the multi-millionaire owner of the Ministry of Sound nightclub encounters his father, Lord Palumbo, in the hallowed corridors of the House of Lords, there will not be any emotional embrace of congratulation. At best there might be a cursory nod or an excruciatingly awkward attempt at small talk. In most families, elevation to the Lords (in this case, as a Lib Dem) would be a cause of immense pride and celebration. But Lord Palumbo, 77, and his only son James, 50, have barely spoken in the past 30 years because of an acrimonious family feud. In 1994, James Palumbo, along with his sister Annabella, sued their father, then a wealthy socialite, former chairman of the Arts Council, confidant of the late Princess Diana and benefactor of the Conservative Party. They accused him of plundering the Palumbo family trust, valued at £70 million, which had been set up by their property developer grandfather. In a High Court writ, they alleged that their father blew £22.6 million on vintage wine, classic cars, art and donations to the Tories. Lord Palumbo denied all the allegations, but after a series of private hearings, he agreed to resign as a trustee running the family estate. Three years ago the feud was reignited by a new lawsuit when James Palumbo and his sister claimed that their father had secretly sold paintings, chattels and furniture from another family trust worth £2 million. Lord Palumbo strongly denied the claims. "We shall be resisting the allegations robustly," he said. Family: James Palumbo's father, with second wife Hayat Calil and children including James's sisters Annabella (top left) and Laura (top right) This time they were joined by their sister Laura in the legal action. Last summer their father agreed to resign as a trustee and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees. In both cases, Lord Palumbo settled out of court. He was bemused and saddened by the fact that all three children took such action and there has been no reconciliation. His second wife Hayat Calil (the children's step-mother) was more direct. "Your brother is the devil incarnate," she once told James's sister Annabella. He is evil, poison. The feud can be traced back to the late Seventies when the Palumbo children were growing up at Buckhurst Park, a grand 16-bedroom house set in 60 acres of Windsor Park. Their mother Denia, a society beauty, had a tempestuous marriage with their father, Peter, and they divorced in 1977. Denia later died of cancer. The family atmosphere in the house was formal, soulless and even ceremonial. James followed a path familiar to many of his privileged peers: Eton then Oxford. But from an early age, and in contrast to his father, he reacted against his background and was uninterested in society, sports and protocol. He became increasingly mischievous and irreverent. Lord Palumbo regarded him as an ungrateful brat and family holidays and meals turned into pitched battles. They culminated in a Christmas Day lunch in 1984 when father and son's usual squabbling erupted into a row of spectacular psychological and physical ferocity. Then James's sister Annabella broke an expensive champagne glass, her father glowered at her, she left the table and the lunch was over. Popular: James Palumbo has built a £150 million business empire as owner of the Ministry of Sound nightclub (pictured) and the MSHK Group it spawned - which boasts the biggest independent music label in the world That evening, the children returned their Christmas presents with a note saying: "These are just material gifts. You don't love us. An infuriated Lord Palumbo then stormed into his son's room and punched him in the face, drawing blood. James left home the next day and the two men have barely exchanged a civil word since. Since then, James has built a £150 million business empire as owner of the world-famous Ministry of Sound nightclub and the MSHK Group it spawned - which boasts the biggest independent music label in the world. However, somewhat aloof and distant, he is the antithesis of the gregarious back-slapping showbiz entrepreneur. "I don't care what people think of me," he once told a friend. As a boy, such steeliness helped him to take a stance in refusing to observe the ancient tradition of fagging (younger boys running errands and making tea for the prefects) at Eton. And such inner resolve also helped him to defeat the organised gangs of South London who were selling drugs via the security guards on the door of his beloved nightclub. Palumbo received death threats and wore a bullet-proof jacket at the club door. He later helped devise anti-drugs legislation, including the Drugs Misuse Act, after approaching ministers to offer his experience. He despises drugs, regards smoking as a sign of weakness and rarely drinks. He lives in an immaculate but sparsely furnished apartment in South Kensington with his long-time best friend, an attractive Thai woman called Rawipim whom he refers to endearingly as "my cat." Despite appearances, they have a platonic relationship while Palumbo has had a series of girlfriends. He has a 20-year-old son, Alessandro, the result of a brief fling with Atoosa Hariri, an Iranian woman. Multi-millionaire: James Palumbo (pictured inside his beloved Ministry of Sound nightclub in Elephant and Castle, South London) despises drugs, regards smoking as a sign of weakness and rarely drinks Although his father has been an active and influential Conservative peer since the Thatcher years of the Eighties, James's political allegiances are Left of centre. His favourite book is Sun Tzu's The Art Of War - an ancient Chinese tome on military strategy popular with politicians and business leaders - and by nature he is a plotter and schemer, so it is perhaps not surprising that his closest political friend has been the Prince of Darkness himself: Peter Mandelson. The two met in 1995 and struck up an immediate rapport - enjoying mocking each other gently. He despises drugs, regards smoking as a sign of weakness and rarely drinks In the run-up to the 1997 General Election, Mandelson was working 16-hour days and driving himself to meetings, sometimes late at night. Palumbo thought this madness and hired the father of his own chauffeur, who then drove Mandelson around for the rest of the campaign. Palumbo was never a New Labour supporter, but he and Mandelson have remained friends. They meet regularly, and occasionally go on holiday to Barbados together. "The one thing you need to know about James is that he has an uncompromising reputation, but he's as loyal to his friends as he is dangerous to his enemies," observes a friend. He has aligned himself with the Lib Dems, friends say, partly because they voted against the Iraq war but also because of his friendship with Simon Hughes, the party's deputy leader. When Ministry of Sound was conceived, it obtained the first all-night dance licence in the UK and Hughes, the local MP, was supportive and a regular visitor. Palumbo supported Hughes's failed Lib Dem leadership campaign in 2006 with a £10,000 donation and the use of a car to take him around the country. Friendly: James Palumbo's father Lord Palumbo was a confidant of the late Princess Diana. They are pictured together at the Serpentine Gallery in Central London in 1994 No wonder Hughes (now deputy party leader) welcomed Palumbo's ennoblement, hailing him as "a greatly successful businessman who has made his Elephant-and-Castle-based company a global club and music brand, valued around the world. James has been a valued adviser, friend and Liberal Democrat supporter over many years. He will bring great business and financial expertise to Parliament. But it was the financial crisis that was the catalyst for Palumbo's entry into the political arena. In 2009, he wrote an article for the Mail in which he argued that Britain could be on the brink of a financial meltdown. He claimed David Cameron and George Osborne were well-intentioned but had no understanding of the real business world. Exasperated by what he regarded as petty partisanship, he wrote the satirical if rather eccentric novel, Tomas, about corruption in politics and modern society. Bankers and billionaires were singled out for particular ridicule. The book itself was lambasted and praised in equal measure. After the 2010 general election, Hughes asked Palumbo for his help and the multi-millionaire began donating funds to the Lib Dems - giving an estimated £500,000 in cash and benefits-in-kind, including office space and operating equipment. Predictably, critics argue that he has bought access and political influence and that he would not have received a peerage had he not donated such vast sums. Behind the scenes, Palumbo has been more active than is commonly realised. He was intrigued to see if he could adapt business methods to the running of political parties and was given free rein to reform the party's machinery and infrastructure. Father and son: James Palumbo has had a series of girlfriends. He has a son, Alessandro, 20, the result of a brief fling with Atoosa Haririn. He is pictured with him in 1997, when Alessandro was aged six Palumbo was behind the Lib Dems" move to a more modern open-plan headquarters near Parliament Square. He drafted in expertise from his Ministry of Sound commercial team to overhaul antiquated financial and IT systems. Inevitably, he made as many enemies as friends. Party officials became accustomed to stand-up rows between Palumbo and senior Liberal Democrat figures. The Liberal Democrat campaign for London Mayor was conducted from Ministry of Sound's offices in the Elephant and Castle, though friends say Palumbo found it a demoralising experience. As we approach the next general election, Palumbo is likely to be involved in defending the Lib Dems" most vulnerable seats And then came the ill-fated attempts by Nick Clegg to change the way people voted and to introduce an element of proportional representation. The favoured option was the "alternative vote." Palumbo was unhappy with the campaign strategy and parachuted in Patrick Loughran, Mandelson's former chief of staff, halfway through the campaign. But it was too late, and voters rejected the idea in a referendum two years ago. As we approach the next general election, Palumbo is likely to be involved in defending the Lib Dems" most vulnerable seats. In the meantime, the newly-ennobled peer has the much more pleasant decision to make: choosing a title, and the two peers who will introduce him as a new member of the House of Lords. Lord Mandelson is an obvious candidate, but a poignant choice would be Lord Alliance, a Lib Dem grandee and tycoon who built up a retail business worth £700m, whom Palumbo views in many ways as the father he never had. The bitter irony, of course, is that on the day of the ceremony itself in the Lords, James Palumbo's real father may be sitting only a few feet away.