Crime
‘Rape is rape’ serves no one well, least of all rape victims
When Mary Jane Mowat remarked recently that rape conviction statistics would not improve ‘until women stop getting so drunk,’ the…
The biggest civil liberties outrage you've never heard of
‘Bubble matches’ sound like something quaint. In fact,they’re an outrage against civil liberties
The bits of Magna Carta that David Cameron won’t want taught in schools
The not-so-great charter David Cameron wants every child to be taught about Magna Carta. Some bits he might want to…
Don’t blame the Guardian if criminals are getting better at hiding online. Blame iTunes and Netflix
I wouldn’t wish to deny that all drug dealers and crime lords read the Guardian. Indeed, check the circulation figures,…
The internet is broken – and we can no longer do without it
‘The internet is broken,’ a corporate chieftain told me last week. It was an arresting remark, but he did not…
Viktor Yanukovych’s palace is full of tasteless treasures – and London auction-house tags
Quite a few of the former president Yanukovych’s ‘treasures’ seem to carry tags from London auctioneers
I’d rather have a German next door too — and I have the figures to show why
Should we be worried about the vast numbers of German-born people living covertly in the United Kingdom? The Office for…
Spectator letters: On wind turbines, Churchill's only exam success, and the red-trousered mayor of Bristol
When the wind blows Sir: Clare Oxford’s piece (‘Gone with the wind turbines’, 12 April) is both timely and sad.…
Spectator letters: Interpreting Islam, and Spectator-reading thieves
Chapter and verse on Islam Sir: Irshad Manji’s generally very sensible article on ‘Reclaiming Islam’ (29 March) suggests using the…
Six months as a TV critic, and I’ve seen enough corpses to last a lifetime
It was Shetland that tipped me over the edge. Not the place, but the TV series. Although that’s set in…
Alexander McCall Smith’s diary: Meeting Babar’s creator
As any author will tell you, literary festivals differ widely. If you are invited to Willy Dalrymple’s Jaipur Festival, with…
The only way to end the war on drugs is to stop fighting it
It’s surprisingly boring, legalising weed. In Colorado, where recreational doobie has been utterly without censure for, ooh, about a week…
Barometer: Spain’s own version of Gibraltar
Other people’s rocks Spain threatened to introduce a €40 border-crossing charge and find other ways of making life difficult for…
