World
What happened to Provence?
The best time to visit Provence, I always advise when asked, is in the spring before the scorching heat and…
Oxford needs to fight back against the university
The news that the original Oxfam bookshop on St Giles in Oxford is not to close is not just a…
Can I read Trump’s mind?
Making time to prepare to host the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has not been easy. Presently I’m flying back to…
How Peter Mandelson became Britain’s ambassador to the US – despite failing vetting
I have just been contacted by a source who knows much more about what happened with Peter Mandelson’s vetting. It…
Russia’s nationalists are falling out of love with Putin
Moscow’s Manezh exhibition hall is playing host to a celebration of the life and politics of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the outspoken,…
The Green Party is mad, bad and dangerous
Much has been written in recent days about the outlandish proposals and deplorable opinions of the Green Party candidates standing…
Nothing prepares you for the death of a pet
My companion – my friend – Louie died suddenly on Tuesday. He was nine (his tenth birthday was due next…
Do the best cricketers have to play Test cricket?
England opener Ben Duckett had a miserable winter. His most memorable contribution to the Ashes tour was not his 202…
Deporting Axel Rudakubana’s parents won’t do any good
Axel Rudakubana’s mother and father failed as parents – and they failed the three innocent girls who were murdered in…
Melania’s mysterious messaging
On April 9, Melania Trump held a lone press conference. She showed up in a charcoal suit, delivered a speech…
The latest twist of the Mandelson scandal has badly damaged Starmer
The sacking of Sir Oliver Robbins over the vetting of Peter Mandelson is a complicated affair, so I’ll try to…
How does Starmer plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz?
Despite usually being a fan of escaping domestic trouble with travel abroad, Keir Starmer would be forgiven for thinking his…
Starmer and Macron’s desperate bid for global relevance
Iran has declared that the Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open’ in an announcement that has been welcomed by Donald…
Will Keir Starmer be a casualty of the Epstein fallout?
In America, important men don’t seem to suffer too much over their links to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Bill Clinton,…
The questions Starmer’s ethics adviser must answer
The fall of Olly Robbins and the renewed focus on what the Prime Minister actually knew about Peter Mandelson’s appointment…
London has fallen
I disagree with Sam Leith’s recent piece entitled ‘London hasn’t fallen’. He took at face value Sadiq Khan’s claim in…
Why is this Green candidate sharing an anti-semitic post?
A terror attack on a synagogue was “not anti-semitism” but was “revenge” for Israel “murdering people,” according to a video…
Trump’s foe-bashing won’t save his capsizing presidency
Has the dustup between Washington and Tehran come to an end? ‘They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust…
Rowan Williams: ‘There’s something demonic in US political culture’
Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has said ‘there is something demonic’ in the ‘political culture’ of the United…
Miliband’s fight against North Sea drilling is far from over
What have North Sea oil and gas production and grammar school education got in common? Both are subject to a…
In defence of Olly Robbins
The Mandelson scandal continues to metastasise throughout Whitehall. We now know, from reporting in the Guardian and largely confirmed by…
How France is bending the knee to Iran
What is Emmanuel Macron playing at? In the space of just a few days, three apparently unconnected incidents have the…
Can a new national selector save English cricket?
The England Cricket Board is appointing a new national selector: the window for applications closes today. If they get a…
John Swinney wants to decide Scotland’s food prices
First Minister John Swinney needed a headline-grabbing new policy for the launch of his party’s Holyrood election manifesto today, and…
Starmer is making life impossible for the Chagos Islanders
Five of them came aboard our sailing boat at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Naval and Royal Marine personnel rebranded as…
