Published in the New Statesman (July 26th, 2013) As I left one veteran activist’s home in Harare after an evening discussing the forthcoming election, I pointed at the green water […]
Africa / Zimbabwe
The crocodile, a £7bn will, and a fast food war – the bizarre backdrop to a crucial vote
Published in The Mail on Sunday (July 21st, 2013) As the warm winter sun beat down, newspaper editors and businessmen dined on crispy chicken and fat steaks cooked […]
Africa / Zimbabwe
Secret dossier proves Mugabe stealing election
Published in The Mail on Sunday (July 21st, 2013) Damning top-secret intelligence documents that expose Robert Mugabe’s plans to rig the forthcoming election in Zimbabwe and crush his […]
Policy / Politics / Whitehall
The civil service: a monster in Whitehall
Published in The Guardian (July 16th, 2013) Britain has a bad habit of deluding itself over its institutions. We proclaim the National Health Service to be the envy […]
Africa / Egypt / Politics
Some protests suit Blair more than others
Published in The Independent (July 9th, 2013) There was always something Tiggerish about Tony Blair, with that irrepressible ability to overcome setbacks unabashed and bounce back unconstrained by […]
Arts / Music
Why grandad rock still rolls
Published in The Guardian (June 29th) Two of the most powerful brands in popular culture merge on Saturday. The Rolling Stones, creators of perhaps the most efficient money machine […]
Health / Policy
Worshipping the NHS costs lives
Published in The Independent on Sunday (23rd June, 2013) Imagine if an airline crashed 10 planes each year, killing 3,000 passengers in avoidable accidents. After its most disturbing […]
Europe / European Union / Greece
Orphans of the Greek meltdown
Published in The Mail on Sunday (June 23rd, 2013) Laughing children play in a pine-scented courtyard on a warm summer’s evening. Excitement rises to fever pitch as a creamy […]
Aid / Ethiopia / Politics
This is not about ending world hunger. It is a political stunt
Published in The Independent (June 19th, 2013) The broadcasters fell for it, of course. Those colourful images of a “flotilla” of two longboats sailing near the venue of […]
Arts / Books / Economics
It makes the world go round
Published in The Observer (June 9th, 2013) Money: The Unauthorised Biography by Felix Martin (Bodley Head) When an American explorer named William Henry Furness III arrived on the […]
Economics / Politics
Is a clandestine world government meeting in Watford?
Published in The Daily Mail (June 6th, 2013) Even though it’s the birthplace of a Spice Girl, a former Gladiators champion and the Tory chairman Grant Shapps, nothing […]
Africa / Aid / Ethiopia
Foreign aid: the final insult
Published in The Mail on Sunday (May 26th, 2013) It is hard to think of many more blessed spots on Earth than the Gambella region of Ethiopia, with […]