SIMON WALTERS: Sasha Swire left out claims her Tory minister husband had an affair in her new book

The wife of ex-minister Hugo Swire fled to David Cameron in 'distress' after claiming her 'pig' of a husband had an affair. Sasha Swire, who has lifted the lid on sex and political shenanigans in the Tory party, reveals in her new book that she dashed to Chequers, the prime …...Read More

Lily James dons 1930s attire as she films The Pursuit Of Love with Freddie Fox in Bath

Her roles in period dramas from Downton Abbey to War & Peace have meant having to struggle into all manner of extravagant costumes. So Lily James will have welcomed the chance to slip into something more comfortable for her latest part – the bath. The actress cast off her 1930s …...Read More

Cotswolds mother renowned for her perfect scones was also Soviet spy Colonel Ursula Kuczynski

BOOK OF THE WEEK AGENT SONYA by Ben Macintyre (Viking £25, 416 pp) Her scones were the envy of the Oxfordshire hamlet of Great Rollright, where the friendly woman known as Mrs Burton lived in a stone farmhouse. In her late 30s, she moved there with her three children and …...Read More

New book Eat The Buddha by Barbara Demick tells the tragic story of the people of Tibet

POLITICS EAT THE BUDDHA by Barbara Demick (Granta, £18.99, 272pp) The very word 'Tibet' has romantic, resonance. The 'Roof of the World' conjures the vast snowy wastes of the High Himalayan plateau, populated by yaks, nomadic herders, yetis and Buddhist lamas in russet robes, capable of levitation and clairvoyance. Alas, …...Read More

Elizabeth Hurley's love child and the battle for his family's fortune

Elizabeth Hurley was three months pregnant when her multi-millionaire ex-boyfriend put his name to a will which apparently disinherited their unborn baby. ‘I have recently been informed by an individual that she is pregnant with my child,’ Steve Bing stated in the document he signed on November 14, 2001. The …...Read More

The controversial shortlist for this year's Man Booker prize

The controversial shortlist for the prestigious 2020 Booker prize was announced earlier this week. It has proved unpopular with its lack of British authors (just one, Douglas Stuart) and four debut authors on the list, squeezing out the twice-winning Hilary Mantel's third and final volume of the Wolf Hall trilogy …...Read More

Max Hill says rise of doctored video and audio evidence will pose a risk to justice

PROSECUTORS will soon have to decipher whether evidence is real or 'deep fake', the Director of Public Prosecutions has warned. In a chilling vision of the future, Max Hill QC said lawyers may have to routinely consider if voice recordings and video footage had been mocked up or tampered with …...Read More

Downing Street is forced to deny claims it is planning for a nationwide two-week lockdown

Downing Street last night insisted the Government is not preparing to impose a new two-week lockdown on the entire country. Officials were forced to deny claims the chief medical officer has been pushing for short, sharp nationwide restrictions to tackle the rise in infections. Professor Anthony Costello, a former director …...Read More

JK Rowling reveals cross-dressing villain in new book is based on real-life serial killers

JK Rowling has revealed the cross-dressing villain in her new book is based on real-life serial killers Jerry Brudos and Russell Williams after facing another transphobia row. The Harry Potter author released Troubled Blood under her crime-writing pseudonym Robert Galbraith earlier this week. The thriller sees detective Cormoran Strike try …...Read More

For-Profit Jail Is Accused of Abuse After Death of Woman With H.I.V.

A lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday accused a for-profit jail in Texas of civil rights violations, including neglect and abuse, that led to the death of a woman with H.I.V. who was held for two months as a pretrial detainee. The woman, Holly Barlow-Austin, 46, was housed in …...Read More