Gavin Cordon
UK
Meta Ramsay: the spy who could have been MI6’s first female ‘C’
After a 22-year career in intelligence she became a Labour minister in the Lords, helping to steer Scottish devolution.
By Gavin Cordon
29 May 2026
Politics14 May 2026
What would Wes Streeting be like as Prime Minister?
Asked in 2018 who would be Prime Minister in a decade, the Ilford North MP answered: ‘It'll probably be me’
Politics
Menzies Campbell: Liberal Democrat leader ousted as ‘too old’
As the party’s foreign affairs spokesman he led opposition to Tony Blair’s invasion of Iraq.
By Gavin Cordon
26 Sept 2025
Politics
Angela Rayner: The ‘teenage mum from a council estate’ who became deputy PM
Former housing secretary once described herself as ‘John Prescott in a skirt’.
By Gavin Cordon
5 Sept 2025
Politics
Angela Rayner: The working-class defender of Labour values
The Deputy Prime Minister once described herself as ‘John Prescott in a skirt’.
By Gavin Cordon
3 Sept 2025
UK
Stella Rimington: The spy who brought MI5 out of the shadows
Britain’s first woman spymaster saw an era of greater openness in the intelligence services.
By Gavin Cordon
4 Aug 2025
Music
Geldof’s threat to quit Blair’s Africa Commission
Newly-released files show furious Live Aid campaigner warned the commission was becoming ‘laughable grotesque’.
By Gavin Cordon
22 Jul 2025
Politics
Tebbit the Tory hard man who took on the trade unions
As Conservative Party chairman, Norman Tebbit masterminded Margaret Thatcher’s third general election victory despite tensions with the PM.
By Gavin Cordon
8 Jul 2025
UK
Francis the humble pope who won the hearts of millions
Francis was the first pope from the Americas, and the first non-European for more than 1,200 years
By Gavin Cordon
21 Apr 2025
UK
Oleg Gordievsky: the spy who helped avert a nuclear war
The ex-KGB officer’s intelligence was crucial to Margaret Thatcher’s contacts with Mikhail Gorbachev, whose rise to power helped end the Cold War.
By Gavin Cordon
22 Mar 2025
Film
MI5 feared film star Dirk Bogarde could be target of KGB sting attempt
Newly declassified files show the actor’s name was on a list of ‘practising British homosexuals’ passed to the Russians.
By Gavin Cordon
14 Jan 2025
Politics
Blair was warned of Eastern European immigration surge, papers show
Papers from the National Archives show Tony Blair was warned of an immigration surge from Eastern Europe following the 2004 EU expansion
By Gavin Cordon
31 Dec 2024
Politics
John Prescott: The political bruiser who helped build New Labour
The ex-deputy prime minister was a key figure in Tony Blair’s modernisation project – only to later distance himself from his legacy
By Gavin Cordon
21 Nov 2024
Politics
Kemi Badenoch: The darling of the Tory right bidding to lead them back to power
Kemi Badenoch has defeated Robert Jenrick to become new leader of the Conservative Party.
By Gavin Cordon
2 Nov 2024
Politics
Kemi Badenoch: The darling of the Tory right bidding to lead them back to power
Ms Badenoch grew up in Nigeria where her father was a GP and her mother a lecturer in physiology.
By Gavin Cordon
31 Oct 2024
Politics
Jenrick bids to cap political comeback with Tory crown
The one-time centrist Remainer is now seeking to outflank his rivals from the right.
By Gavin Cordon
31 Oct 2024
UK
Tony Blair’s anger over rising asylum claims shown in newly-released files
Papers from 1999 show the then prime minister’s exasperation at the failure to curb the numbers entering the UK.
By Gavin Cordon
23 Jul 2024
Politics
A night that changed Britain’s political landscape
How Labour regained power after 14 years in opposition.
By Gavin Cordon
5 Jul 2024
Politics
Angela Rayner: Labour’s new Red Queen
The party’s deputy leader will take charge of the Government’s workplace reform agenda.
By Gavin Cordon
5 Jul 2024
Politics5 Jul 2024
Who is Nigel Farage? Reform leader elected as Clacton MP
After eight attempts, Farage has become an MP for the first time
Politics
Rishi Sunak, the stopgap prime minister who failed to turn around Tory fortunes
During his 20 months in No 10, the premier grappled with a toxic inheritance.
By Gavin Cordon
5 Jul 2024