3 h. ago The story behind the spy stories: show reveals secrets of John le Carré’s craft

How author researched his plots and letters from Alec Guinness feature in Oxford exhibition Lamplighters, pavement artists, babysitters – they have taken on whole new meanings thanks to John le Carré. As his fans will know, they are part of tradecraft practised by the spies he wrote about so evocatively. Now, almost five years after his death, an exhibition, with the title Tradecraft, reveals the techniques and motivations of the characters’ real creator, David Cornwell.As you enter the exhibition in Oxford University’s Bodleian library you are greeted with a large portrait of Cornwell, wearing a black bucket cap, looking straight ahead with piercing eyes, his chin resting on his gently clasped hands. Accompanying the photo are two of his quotes. “I am not a spy who writes novels, I am a writer who briefly worked in the secret world,” one says. The second, after questioning whom, if anyone, we can trust, continues: “What is loyalty – to ourselves, to whom, to what? Whom, if anyone, ...

Politics

4 d. ago Voices: ‘Life is 100 per cent better without her’: Readers share painful truth of family estrangement

Our community has shared deeply personal stories of pain, resilience and acceptance – revealing how, for many, walking away from family was both heartbreaking and healing

Politics

5 d. ago George Clooney reveals past drug use as he details wild stories from his youth

Ocean's Eleven actor George Clooney detailed his past drug use in a recent interview, revealing he tried cocaine and 'stuff' when he was in his early 20s

Events

1 week ago Labour Government steps in to save welding centre amid claims SNP is "anti

Defence Secretary John Healey said £2.5m is being made available for the specialist welding skills centre on the Clyde in Glasgow.

Politics

1 week ago Military to get 'first dibs' of new homes as defence boss blasts Tory failure

Defence Secretary John Healey said morale in the armed forces reached 'rock bottom' under the Tories with poor housing at the centre of a recruitment and retention crisis

Events

1 week ago Brit bosses should 'encourage workers' to join Army Reserves as WW3 fears grow

Defence Secretary John Healey said it is his 'personal mission' to bring up public confidence in the Armed Forces and believes people should join reserve units and cadets to help national security

Economics

1 week ago UK defence chief gives verdict on Donald Trump's brutal 'paper tiger' jab at Putin

Defence Secretary John Healey told The Mirror Russia is 'not as tough as Putin likes to pretend' and said he welcomed Donald Trump's jibe

Politics

2 w. ago Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds

Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissionsFood and agriculture contribute one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions – second only to the burning of fossil fuels. And yet the vast majority of media coverage of the climate crisis overlooks this critical sector, according to a new data analysis from Sentient Media.The findings suggest that only about a quarter of climate articles in 11 major US outlets, including the Guardian, mention food and agriculture as a cause. And of the 940 articles analyzed, only 36 – or 3.8% – mentioned animal agriculture or meat production, by far the largest source of food-related emissions. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Maya Jama confirms her future on Love Island amid rumours she is set to quit the villa

MAYA Jama has confirmed her future on Love Island amid speculation she may be quitting hosting the show. To the relief of millions of fans, the stunning presenter has revealed she WILL be back. Updating fans on her instagram stories, she referred to the speculation she was about to walk away before revealing she would...

Politics

2 w. ago Hilary Benn urged to call public inquiry after police surveillance revelations

Journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney say only an inquiry can answer all the questions.

Events

2 w. ago Furious EastEnders star exposes secret bedroom scene rule for gay couples

EastEnders icon John Partridge has opened up about a secret rule that applied to his bedroom scenes when playing gay Albert Square resident Christian Clarke on the BBC soap

Politics

2 w. ago Inside Carolyn Bessette's hour and a half panic before her wedding... her mother's warning... and JFK Jr's very provocative gift, told by the people there

Late on September 21, 1996, the world's most eligible bachelor, John F Kennedy Jr, married Carolyn Bessette in a secretive ceremony on a tiny, isolated island in Georgia. 

Events

3 w. ago 'We'll blow Putin's drones out of the sky': Defence Secretary's tough words as UK fighter jets patrol Polish border

Defence Secretary John Healey issued a blunt 'message to Moscow ' after two RAF fighters were this weekend deployed to the skies over Poland .

Politics

3 w. ago Emmerdale's Charity Dingle star says 'there's so much more' after Mackenzie Boyd alive twist

Fans of the ITV soap were thinking the character's time in the Dales was up after he came face-to-face with secret killer, John Sugden

Politics

3 w. ago Cabinet Secretary says John Swinney was ‘representing Scotland’ at state banquet for Donald Trump

Justice Secretary Angela Constance defended Swinney's presence after an SNP MP criticised people for attending.

Politics

3 w. ago 'I hate my husband, but he's got MS. I can never leave': TRACEY COX reveals horror stories from women trapped in marriages with 'no way out'

According to UK-based relationship expert Tracey Cox, there are circumstances that make leaving a marriage - even an extremely unhappy one - very difficult.

Events