Features
Katharine Gun: the spy who tried to stop the Iraq war
In his memoir of office, Decision Points, George W. Bush writes about going to see Tony Blair in the Azores…
For the first time since 1171, Ireland has more power than England
Watching Boris Johnson in Dublin, where he came to ask Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to get him out of a hole,…
American universities are fuelled by amphetamines – so I tried them
New York A biography of Freud to my left, a black leather lounger to my right. We were 30 minutes…
Inside the unassuming house where the Brontës’ creativity thrived
‘Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless?’ Jane Eyre asks Mr…
Boris Johnson could be about to lose everything – or redefine British politics
Boris Johnson has already decided on his election message: vote for me and get Brexit, vote for anyone else and…
Brexit has its risks. But staying in the EU is now unthinkable
This is one of the most crucial weeks in modern British history. We have a prime minister and cabinet who…
The Queen can handle coups – she’s been on the receiving end of one
Supplies of Brexit invective are now almost exhausted. While the Prime Minister is denounced for denouncing Remainers as ‘collaborators’, his…
Gatekeeper anxiety: a new disease for our times
A general election looms, the outcome could go almost any way and those who normally offer themselves as experts are…
Revealed: the press regulator’s leaked guidelines on Islamophobia
If truthful reporting risks increasing tension between communities, should it still be published? Do journalists have a social duty to…
The press regulator must not turn into a religious thought police
Next year I will begin my fifth decade as a working journalist. As a writer, as an executive — and…
In defence of trophy hunting
‘Why would anyone want to destroy something so beautiful, then stuff its poor lifeless body to keep as some kind…
Moving to the country for a better life was a huge mistake
As newlyweds in our late twenties, my husband and I decided to move from a crime-ridden (if trendy) London postcode…
Algeria reminds us that the current of colonisation doesn’t always run just one way
As you glide in to land at the airport outside Algiers, the landscape resembles that of Tuscany: a coastal plain…
The unparalleled entertainment – and heartbreaking reality – of watching a court hearing
‘Barristers’ speeches vanish quicker than Chinese dinners, and even the greatest victory in court rarely survives longer than the next…
Battle begins
What makes Boris Johnson an improvement on Theresa May? Those of us who cheered him on into 10 Downing Street…
Germany’s military has become a complete joke
It is not hard to think of times when German military weakness would have been lauded as good news across…
What does Totnes think of Sarah Wollaston, its defecting MP?
‘Totnes? It’s hippie central.’ A friend warned me what to expect when I visited the affluent, left-leaning town in south-east…
‘Bob Dylan? He’s like Confucius’: Cerys Matthews interviewed
‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ was a Christmas classic for more than half a century until people suddenly began to worry…
The most dangerous thing about the Amazon fires is the apocalyptic rhetoric
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese expert on forests who also plays football, so when he shared a picture online of…
What I’ve learned from five months sleeping on the streets
Over the years, I have spent around five months sleeping rough on the streets of London, Birmingham and New York,…
A bridge to the past: Tintagel’s complex history
Halfway across the brand new bridge that links the two halves of Tintagel Castle, there’s a gap where you can…
By royal disappointment: Meghan and Harry’s behaviour is undermining the monarchy
August on Royal Deeside. Soft rain falls without cease on the Caledonian pine forests, it soaks into the ancient peatlands…
We need the monarchy more than ever
One part of our unwritten constitution has been functioning perfectly during the Brexit upheaval: the monarchy. Unhappy behaviour by some…
How woke is your home?
Quick! Roll up the Persian carpet. Hide the willow-pattern service. Sweep the wok and chopsticks under the Berber rug. Mr…
Why Britain, like Iceland, will thrive outside the EU
I have no doubt that Britain will thrive after leaving the EU, whether or not it leaves with a deal.…
