London
A casino clash worthy of James Bond reaches its climax in the High Court
A casino drama worthy of a Bond film arrives in the High Court
Jeremy Vine’s diary: Zipcars, hipster milk and the word that means I’m losing an argument
Last Tuesday I tried to sign up to a new life. My wife and I argued, slightly. ‘I don’t think…
Why my friends love the idea of a nasty, stupid mansion tax
I see all the flaws with a mansion tax, I really do. And yet some little piece of me, some…
What will it take for us to stop doing business with Qatar?
Qatari money has flooded into London – but also into much less savoury places
Spectator letters: In defence of the EU, the Welsh and Mary Wakefield
Breaking the unions Sir: By the time this letter appears we shall know whether the land of my birth has…
The man who brought Cubism to New York
The American Jewish artist Max Weber (1881–1961) was born in Belostok in Russia (now Bialystok in Poland), and although he…
Rextail: a restaurant for billionaire children
Rextail is a restaurant for billionaire children, such as Richie Rich. Its owner, Arcady Novikov, has already opened a restaurant…
Rona Fairhead will be good for the BBC – but who was so keen to nobble her rival?
Hats off to Rona Fairhead, the former Financial Times executive who will succeed Lord Patten as chairman of the BBC…
Fischer’s is like visiting Vienna without having to go to Austria (thank God)
Fischer’s is Austria made safe for liberals, gays, Jews and other Untermenschen riffraff, because it is a restaurant, not a…
The nun who took down an Isis flag – and stands up for east London's Muslims
Sister Christine Frost, who works on an east London estate, sees why young Muslim men are going to fight in Iraq and Syria
A.N. Wilson's diary: The book that made me a writer – and the pushchair that made me an old git
Like many inward-looking children, I always doodled stories and poems. Knowing one wanted to be a writer is a different…
Who cleans skyscrapers?
Tough at the top The clocks on Big Ben were cleaned by abseiling window-cleaners. Some other big cleaning/painting jobs: —…
Our boys in the Islamic state: Britain's export jihad
Why we lead the West in exporting jihad
Here comes Boris! The next Tory leadership fight has just begun
The next Tory leadership battle has just begun
L’Escargot is Soho as Soho sees itself
L’Escargot, or the Snail, is a famous restaurant on Greek Street, Soho, opposite the old Establishment club; the oldest French…
Sloane Rangers vs Arabs – the battle for Chelsea
In Knightsbridge and Chelsea, tension simmers between Sloanes and super-rich Arabs
Why I’m now scared of book clubs
Writing frankly about Jamaica has made me nervous of invitations from strangers. How would this one turn out?
From jailbird to social butterfly – the return of Conrad Black
The former proprietor of this magazine, Conrad Black, is in London at the moment with his gorgeous wife Barbara, and…
‘Dark pools’ are just another conspiracy of bankers against the public
It was at the Mansion House dinner last year that a City gent two seats away announced himself to be…
I may not know much about khat, but I know banning it is crazy
Khat is a leafy stimulant chewed mainly, I gather, by Somalis. This week the government banned its possession and sale.…
At the Chiltern Firehouse, smugness should be on the menu
Here then is Gatsby’s house, after an invasion by the Daily Mail. It is called the Chiltern Firehouse. It is…
Young Italians flock to London – for just the same reasons it scares me
Although I live in the country in Northamptonshire, I go to London often — almost once a week — and…
Labour has proved that it speaks for London – and nowhere else
So, now almost all the votes have been counted — except for those in the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets, where…
Fight Thomas Piketty or face a mansion tax
The postman at the door is stooped by his burden like an allegorical statue of Labour Oppressed by Capital. His…
The rudest restaurants in London
Wong Kei is a mad Chinese restaurant on Wardour Street, Chinatown. Until recently it was considered the rudest restaurant in…
