Over the years I’ve written for many news organisations in the UK and around the world.

I started out in journalism for Reuters in Moscow and Bonn. I was then Bureau Chief for the Daily Telegraph in East Berlin in Moscow, before returning to the UK where I was Chief Political Correspondent at the FT in the early Blair years and Chief Political Commentator for the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. From 2005-2008 I was Editor of the New Statesman, taking the magazine to 30-year circulation highs.

I write regular columns for the Guardian, Foreign Policy and Politico. A fuller list is below.

My most recent venture is my weekly Substack, out weekly. Do subscribe!

 
 

Some of my favourite past pieces

Why Taiwan is counting on its silicon shield to save it from a Chinese invasion
Independent, 27 July 2024

La France et le Royaume-Uni : deux pays rivaux, et une tendance qui s’inverse
Libération, 1 July 2024

After Robert Fico’s shooting, Slovakia is heading full throttle towards authoritarianism
Guardian, 28 June 2024

‘Culture embarrasses them’: how 14 years of Tory fiascos strangled arts in the UK
Guardian, 20 June 2024

Canada’s immigration model is coming under strain
Financial Times, 10 June 2024

Britain’s Revival Must Start With the BBC
Foreign Policy, 7 June 2024

Starmer will try to prove Britain can be a reliable EU friend — and Germany will be key
Politico, 6 June 2024

Whether Robert Fico survives and resumes office or not, Slovakia stands on the brink
Guardian, 16 May 2024

As Germany’s postwar constitution turns 75, threats to its democracy are looming
Guardian, 9 May 2024

What, if anything, does Europe have to offer Trump?
Politico, 23 April 2024

How Koyo Kouoh is getting Zeitz Mocaa museum back on track
Art Newspaper, 22 April 2024

Germany’s history should give it clarity about the Middle East. Instead, it is paralysed
Guardian, 5 April 2024

The UK-Shaped Hole in Organizing Europe’s Security
International Politics Quarterly, 22 March 2024

How Germany is learning to love its army
Politico, 29 February 2024

Aryan homoeroticism and Lenin’s head: the museum showcasing Berlin’s unwanted statues
Guardian, 24 February 2024

Alexei Navalny: the man who knew too much
Independent, 20 February 2024

In Finland, the ‘existential threat’ of Russia looms – and US rescue is far from certain
Guardian, 2 February 2024

Starmer's Britain Would Be on the Verge of a Big Global Comeback
Foreign Policy, 27 January 2024

Inside Nato’s ‘museum of shame’ where Lenin planned bloody revolution
Independent, 24 January 2024

Wolfgang Schäuble obituary
Guardian, 29 December 2023

Right-Wing Populism Is Set to Sweep the West in 2024
Foreign Policy, 26 December 2023

How Germany’s history shapes its relationship with Israel
Prospect, 14 December 2023

When Is an Extremist Not an Extremist?
International Politics Quarterly, 21 November 2023

The relentless self-confidence of David Cameron
Die Zeit, 15 November, 2023

Britain's COVID Inquiry Has Revealed State Dysfunction
Foreign Policy, 9 November 2023

Germany’s bond with Israel has been admirable – but it is becoming a straitjacket 
Guardian, 4 November 2023

Berlin is always reinventing itself and that’s why I keep coming back
Independent, 6 October 2023

The Fight over Britain’s Economy
International Politics Quarterly, 6 October 2023

German politics has a built-in firewall against the far right. It’s beginning to crack
Guardian, 27 September 2023

Slovakia’s Election and the Erosion of Liberal Democracy
RUSI Journal, 15 September 2023

With one stroke, Slovakia could soon become Russia’s newest ally
Guardian, 5 September 2023

Sunak, Starmer, and Europe: A Story of Small Steps
International Politics Quarterly, 30 August 2023

Putin’s hit list: inside the Kremlin’s killing machine
Independent, 26 August 2023

Martin Walser obituary
Guardian, 14 August 2023

The Rightward Turn
International Politics Quarterly, 29 June 2023

Review: Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad 
FT, 14 June 2023

Clowns belong in the circus – but unless we take politics seriously there will be more like Boris Johnson
Guardian, 13 June 2023

Germany’s change of heart is now pivotal to the war in Ukraine. Here’s why
Guardian, 15 May 2023

The success of Global Britain will require tough choices in this era of upheaval
Politics Home, 10 May 2023

Inside Malba: a tour of the largest museum dedicated to Latin American art in the world
Art Newspaper, 5 May 2023

If we want Putin brought to justice, Nuremberg has much to teach us 
Guardian, 10 April 2023

Europe’s South American outpost
New European, 7 April 2023

BBC cowardice caused the Lineker rebellion. There will be more unless it finds courage
Guardian, 13 March 2023

Iraq was a terrible war – but it cannot excuse our failure to confront the tyranny we face
Guardian, 20 February 2023

A reality check on Britain’s place in the world
International Politics Quarterly, 9 February 2023

We need to reinvent Britain’s role in the world. This is how
Prospect, 27 December 2022

Volodymyr Zelensky: The defiant one
New European, 8 December 2022

Britain must get real about its place in the world
The World Today, 2 December 2022

Rishi Sunak: Staatsziel Langeweile
Die Zeit (German), 26 October 2022

Ukraine fundraiser shines intriguing light on art, wealth—and a flexible approach to morality
The Art Newspaper, 27 May 2022

Russian money and a ‘cancerous rot’ — who really funds our arts?
Sunday Times, 13 March 2022

To the Kremlin’s chagrin, Germany is back in the game
Sunday Times, 6 March 2022

The dictator, the director and Russia’s days of shame
New European, 3 March 2022

After meeting Putin I warned the government of his intentions
The Times, 23 February 2022

The Stasi Poetry Circle — a cold war of words
FT, 15 February 2022

Modernizing German foreign policy
Internationale Politik Quarterly, 2 January 2022

Germany cannot continue to hide under its comfort blanket
Der Spiegel (German), 23 December 2021

Can Scholz work a miracle in the shadow of Merkel?
New European, 9 December 2021

After Merkel, Germany is searching for a new role in the world
The National, 1 December 2021

Is climate diplomacy possible?
Project Syndicate, 26 October 2021

English exceptionalism doesn’t apply to Covid
The Times, 22 October 2021

Climate politics: Why the old diplomacy no longer works
Tortoise, 13 October 2021

The elections have brought to light the contradictions in German society
Die Zeit, 30 September 2021

Why Germans can look to the future with confidence
Weltwoche, 29 September 2021

A close-up view of Germany’s democratic puzzle
Financial Times, 25 September 2021

Merkel’s chancellorship: Slow, steady... and over
Tortoise, 8 September 2021

France in the World review - a defiantly quixotic chronicle
Guardian, 11 Aug 2021

UK arts sector must learn to fight smart and dirty to get what it wants
The Art Newspaper, 4 Aug 2021

Review: Dangerous Ideas by Eric Berkowitz 
FT, 1 July 2021

Win or lose on Tuesday, Germany is mourning a lost friend
Sunday Times, 27 June 2021

Outcast of the angry generation
The Critic, 2 June 2021

Annalena Baerbock: Can the Queen of Green seize the Bundestag?
New European, 27 March 2021

Having what it takes to secede
The Critic, 25 March 2021

Alexei Navalny’s meme army
Tortoise, 9 March 2021

News and How to Use It by Alan Rusbridger review - a captivating A to Z guide
The Guardian, 17 December 2020

The Telegraph’s former Berlin correspondent on the fall of the wall
Daily Telegraph, 9 November 2020

A new humility
Internationale Politik Quarterly, 6 November 2020

The West is wounded in the battle for free speech
New European, 29 October 2020

It’s time to think seriously about an English Parliament
The Times, 16 October 2020

How Germany's model of growth helps it outperform countries like the US 
Business Insider, 15 October 2020

Sunak is right: the arts are in a precarious spot
The Times, 9 October 2020

Diary: The GDR’s legacy, Trump’s threat to Germany, and getting over Brexit
New Statesman, 7 October 2020

What Germany teaches the world in a crisis
Weltwoche, 30 September 2020

Ein beneidenswertes Land?
IPG International Politics and Society, 28 September 2020

No sensible government would risk no-deal Brexit on top of pandemic
The Times, 25 September 2020

What Germany teaches the world in a crisis
FT, 19 September 2020

Merkel has the mettle to stare down Putin
The Times, 4 September 2020

Lob eines Briten: Warum die Deutschen es besser machen
Die Welt, 28 August 2020

The Master of Reinvention
Berlin Policy Journal, 28 August 2020

Why Germany would be especially happy to see the back of Trump
Observer, 16 August 2020

Why does Germany value the arts so much more than Britain?
Sunday Telegraph, 16 August 2020

The high street needs to be reimagined
The Times, 24 July 2020

Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum review – when politics ends friendships
The Guardian, 11 July 2020

China is changing the world order — the West must fight back
The Times, 10 July 2020

The Road to Nowhere
Berlin Policy Journal, 7 July 2020

Love Klopp, love Germany. You know you want to
Sunday Times, 28 June 2020

Wanted: Responsible Revolutionaries
Berlin Policy Journal, 25 June 2020

Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman — the story of the Snowden scoop
FT, 6 June 2020

Will our parliament ever move beyond sticking-plaster solutions?
The Times, 5 June 2020

Where does the US go now?
Chatham House World Today, 29 May 2020

Not For Turning
Berlin Policy Journal, 28 April 2020

Clapping for the NHS is Starting to Disguise Deeper Problems
The Times, 24 April 2020

The Forgotten French Tapestry with Lessons for our Apocalyptic Times
The Guardian, 17 April 2020

Could Coronavirus Reinvent Britain
New European, 16 April 2020

Sandworm — Russia, America and the new era of cyber war
FT, 15 Nov 2019

The Telegraph's former Berlin correspondent on the fall of the wall
Telegraph 9 Nov 2019

Let go of the past to have influence on world stage 
The Times, 11 Oct 2019

It’s Time for Business to Show Some Spine
The Guardian, 29 July 2019

Factory workers are at last realising there’s a price to pay for Brexit
The Times, 7 June 2019

Rhineland diary: from fish to football to the father of Europe
FT, 31 May 2019

Brexit has made the UK a global joke
The Guardian, 26 Dec 2018

Ballet superstar Isaac Hernández’s arts awakening in Mexico
FT, 21 Sept 2018

Artful Boris fulfils our need to be offended
Evening Standard, 10 Aug 2018

Hong Kong diary: Zen and the art of autocracy
FT, 6 April 2018

Tuscany Diary: on art and the making of a masterpiece
FT, 1 Sept 2017

Zealot driven by vast self-belief and an urge to save the world
The Times, 7 July 2016

Cannes Diary: selling wares on the Croisette
FT, 24 June 2016