The New York Times’s twisted reporting of Henry Nowak’s murder
Last week’s headline in the New York Times was obfuscating: ‘In the UK, a Violent Cycle: Hateful Attacks, Right-Wing Agitation…
Who fancies a pint in Rachel Reeves’s ideal pub?
Even the most gormless of Labour politicians don’t try to persuade the electorate that taxation is a privilege – a…
If you think your bills are bad now, just wait
Forgive the doom-mongering, but the US, and especially the UK, may be dangerously on course for a sovereign debt crisis.…
Let’s ditch the idea of the ‘black vote’
I long took for granted that US opinion polls break down respondents into white people, black people and Hispanics. But…
Tea-towel-gate is everything wrong with modern Britain
During last September’s freshers’ fair at Royal Holloway, University of London, two students got into a brief verbal tiff that…
The conversion therapy we should really ban
In 2012, California was the first US state to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors, the better to stop the forcible…
We’ve already given up on novels
Late last year, I was notified that one or more of my novels might have been fed to an Anthropic…
Another interview goes awry…
Twenty minutes into what seemed a routine softball literary interview for Bloomberg TV in London last month, the conversation took…
The real reason I left Britain
This is a two-parter, albeit linked. If you’re interested in the duplicitousness of British journalists, then keep reading. If you’re…
Who doesn’t want a better life?
Every couple of years a columnist-cum-novelist will inevitably stoop to shameless self-promotion. In my defence, at least the novel released…
No one is safe from a wealth tax
No matter how many jurisdictions discover the hard way that wealth taxes backfire, in California an initiative is collecting signatures…
There should be no ‘sanctuary’ from ICE
After three hours of parsing American case law, for once I share Donald Trump’s exasperation. See, many a naif, including…
‘Islamist’ is a dishonest confection
Convicted last month of plotting what could have proved the worst terrorist attack in British history, Walid Saadaoui had hoped…
Discrimination is good, actually
Many years ago, a friend described one of my serious literary novels as ‘clever’. I was offended – but I…
What’s Trump got to do with the price of turkey?
During last week’s excruciating Oval Office make-nice between an insultingly buddy-buddy American President and a fraudulently obsequious New York City…
The UK’s tax take, take, take
Helping her country ski ever more steeply down the wrong side of the Laffer curve, Rachel Reeves may be preparing…
I’ve been enslaved by my Apple watch
Aside from streaming on an iPad, one of the few entertainments on offer when riding a stationary bike is tracking…
Legal immigration is an absolute nightmare
A personal note this week, as 15 October 2025 marked an occasion of sorts: when my husband’s and my Portuguese…
Transgenderism proves people will believe anything
For years, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has wrapped itself in a guise of medical expertise, advising…
Tyler Robinson is not an ambassador of the American left
The Charlie Kirk assassination has triggered a spate of dueling death counts. The usual media suspects on both sides of…
Is Charlie Kirk’s murder really a ‘watershed’?
The Charlie Kirk assassination has triggered a spate of duelling death counts. The usual media suspects on both sides of…
The truth about the trans school shooter
True, one of the earliest school shooters, Brenda Spencer, who shot up a playground in San Diego in 1979, was…
My shoplifting shame
On reflection, a tradition of shelving many desirable goods within ready reach is extraordinary – especially because the premises in…
Haircuts are a human right!
During the immigration deluge in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seems one Afghan and one Indian national…
The High Court’s war on truth
In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, Humpty-Dumpty tells Alice: ‘When I use a word, it means just what I choose…
