Features
To catch a jihadi
My taxi was about 90 seconds behind the murderers who struck on London Bridge last week. My wife and I…
Post-truth, pure nonsense
For as long as there have been politicians, they have lied, fabricated and deceived. The manufacture of falsehood has changed…
Big trouble in little Qatar
Washington DC At 8:06 on Tuesday morning the Tweeter-in-Chief reached for his Android phone and told the world: ‘During my…
Let there be dark
Who’s afraid of the dark? Who now fears shadows and bumps in the night? Where do you even find any…
Weak and wobbly
When Theresa May decided to go for an early election, she transformed the nature of her premiership. Up to that…
Duchy original
The Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow (‘sons of Cornwall’) is not contesting any seats in the general election. Its leader…
Corbyn for PM?
‘The news that Harry Perkins was to become prime minister went down very badly in the Athenaeum.’ Thus begins my…
Writing wrongs
Does anyone still care about handwriting? Although it was for centuries the medium and motor of daily life, handwriting has…
The madness of King Donald
Washington DC The panhandlers outside the White House hold signs saying: ‘Trump is President — saving to leave the country.’…
Chez newts
The dragon hung motionless above the surface of the earth, belly picked out in the colours of fire and a…
A rugby legend
‘There’s a chance we’ll meet up with Richie McCaw in Christchurch,’ proffered the PR on our New Zealand press trip.…
Kentish wine
As a wine bore, holidays abroad are a battle with the family to cram in as many vineyard visits as…
The known wolf
The meeting place of the two worlds could not have been more sharply defined. In Manchester Arena, thousands of young…
Boats, goats and landslides
J.L. Carr’s classic novel How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup (1975) contains a character named Arthur Fangfoss. Mr…
A war on joy
When the pictures of the dead came in, it was hard to take, even from a distance. There was Georgina…
Holding court
A hundred years after the Russian revolution, Russia has a tsar and a court. Proximity to Putin is the key…
All hail Pence!
Washington Day 1: The New York Times reveals that President Trump offered FBI director James Comey a 25 per cent…
First class
On the Today programme a month ago, Education Secretary Justine Greening was asked whether she could name any ‘respected figure…
Swiss trains
When Theresa May went off to Switzerland on a walking holiday last August, she said it was the ‘peace and…
‘Our children are horrified’
Wrexham, North Wales To window cleaner Andrew Atkinson, Theresa May’s ‘blue-collar Conservatism’ is not just a slogan. It’s what…
This is an emergency
The NHS as we know it is dying. It’s no longer a matter of if it will collapse, but when.…
Middle May
Once, politicians remained in their safe spaces and elections were fought in a handful of swing seats. This time Theresa…
Throw in the towel
Spas are supposed to be relaxing. You pad around in a regulation robe and too-big slippers. Everything is beautifully soft,…
Life in a gulag
I was invited to Moscow earlier this year to give a talk about my latest book. But while I was…
Red Theresa
Never has the Conservative party been more confident about winning a general election. Theresa May’s popularity ratings have broken all…
