By all rights it should have been, like, so “not hot”.

And yet, after 23 days in a women’s correctional facility for driving her Bentley convertible with a licence that had been suspended for drink-driving, the all-new Paris Hilton — philanthropic, spiritually enlightened, abreast of the latest developments in The Wall Street Journal and, most of all, “not dumb” — fluttered out from confinement yesterday morning like an exotic bird from a zookeeper’s cage.

Her hair in a plait, hands clasped in front of her, wearing tight jeans, white stilettoes, a white T-shirt and green vest with cream piping, Hilton gave a coquettish smile as she tip-toed between two steep banks of paparazzi — the image suggesting a modern-day Moses after parting the Red Sea. “Paris is walking! Paris is smiling! Paris is waving!” reported the CNN anchor, sounding almost euphoric.

And then, on seeing her mother in the back of a waiting Cadillac Escalade — the scourge of environmentalists for its 13mpg city fuel consumption — she broke into a run. Through the open window, they hugged. It was a tender mother/heiress/paparazzi/SUV/bodyguards/prison officials moment captured on every conceivable form of media for billions to see. Meanwhile, life has been getting worse for the man responsible for putting Hilton back in jail, after her initial release for “medical reasons”.

We'll always have Paris

She's dismissed as an airhead heiress and the queen of trashy modern celebrity. But is there an enduring icon behind the glitzy blonde facade? Giles Hattersley meets Paris Hilton

BACKGROUND

• Paris Hilton: a jailbird no more

• Paris Hilton is behind bars

• Paris shares cell with jailbird who won’t sing

• Paris does porridge

• All the thrills and spills of Hilton’s celebrity trial

Multimedia

• Audio: listen to Paris' attempted pop career

It began a fortnight ago when it emerged that the wife of Rocky Delgadillo, the Los Angeles city attorney, had crashed a city-issued car while driving (like Hilton) with a suspended licence. She avoided jail (unlike Hilton) and the city paid for the damages, before Mr Delgadillo reimbursed taxpayers last week.

Then came news of an outstanding arrest warrant for her for another traffic incident in 1998, and an admission from Mr Delgadillo that he drove without insurance for a year. It was also revealed that he had used city employees to babysit his children, and violated campaign finance laws on 30 counts. Now it is alleged that his wife’s firm did not file for a business licence or pay city business taxes. “Any police officer who committed Delgadillo’s offences would be fired,” thundered the Los Angeles Times this week. “Why does the city’s top law enforcement official get a better deal?”

As for Lee Baca, LA’s County Sheriff, he is still under pressure to explain why he released Hilton prematurely for medical reasons, when no evidence has emerged beyond her sobbing after three days of incarceration.

Tonight the heiress will appear in front of Larry King, the CNN talk-show host, to describe her ordeal to anyone who did not catch her multiple interviews while behind bars.

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