Stewart keeps new baby under wraps

Veteran rocker Rod Stewart kept his baby son away from prying eyes when he appeared in public for the first time yesterday, thanks to a carefully coordinated diversion.

Stewart and his fiancée, Penny Lancaster, were leaving London's Hotel Baglioni last night with Alistair Wallace, who was born last month, when they became the target for waiting paparazzi.

Lancaster grabbed the attention of the snappers by carrying a baby basket covered with a blanket while a minder smuggled the baby boy out of the hotel and into the waiting car.

Stewart and Lancaster have signed a six-figure deal with the British edition of Hello! magazine for the first snaps of the Maggie May singer's seventh child, according to British newspaper The Daily Mirror.