Andrew Pierce



Profile:
Full name: Andrew Pierce

Area of interest: Politics and Royal Affairs

Journals: The Daily Telegraph | Daily Mail

Email:

Website/blog: Telegraph.co / Andrew Pierce

Blog:

Agent:

Networks:



Biography:
Education: Comprehensive school, Swindon

Career: Began in journalism on local newspapers and then freelancing on nationals; joined the Times in 1988: worked as assistand editor at the Daily Express; re-joined The Times in 1999: political editor, diarist on the 'People' column, assistant editor. Joined The Daily Telegraph as assistant editor July 2006, later Royal editor and columnist Current position: columnist

Other posts:

Viewpoints/Insight: Speaking as an adopted gay Catholic...; Monkey goes to Andrew Pierce's leaving party

TV/Radio: Frequent broadcaster with appearances on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live and LBC radio

Controversy/Criticism:

Books:

Latest work:

Awards/Honours:

Other:

Speaking/Appearances:



The Daily Telegraph: Notebook
Column remit: Politics and Royal Affairs

Section: Features / Comment

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email:

Website: Telegraph.co / Andrew Pierce

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 650 words



Articles:

 * Blair's got a role model - but it certainly isn't Bill Gates'' - Both Tony Blair and Fergie were initially hugely popular figures, whose reputations are today in tatters due to self-inflicted wounds - 22nd December 2009
 * legal: Zac Goldsmith: record donation to his own campaign'' - The millionaire non-dom Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith has spent a record £260,000 of his fortune on his own election campaign - 18th December 2009
 * got real talent – so give him a knighthood'' - Simon Cowell can be irritating - but he has transformed Saturday evening television - 15th December 2009
 * William beats Prince Harry in helicopter pilot race'' - Prince William has beaten Prince Harry in the race to become a fully fledged military helicopter pilot - 12th December 2009
 * Disney World is lucky to be twinned with Swindon, my hometown'' - Swindon will always get lampooned mercilessly - but it has a magic of its own - 9th December 2009
 * of hypocrisy in the royal privacy plea'' - The Queen's decision to get tough with the paparazzi who loiter on the Sandringham Estate is understandable. But only to a point - 8th December 2009
 * spirit of Christmas is lost on Bishop Nick'' - It really would be a bleak mid-winter if we worried about the biblical accuracy of Christmas carols - 1st December 2009
 * to face with my military heroes'' - It was a real honour to meet generations of army medics. Everywhere you turned, another breathtaking act of heroism was being retold - 25th November 2009
 * foundation for brothers in arms'' - Prince William and Prince Harry are rising to the challenge of royal life together - 23rd November 2009
 * Ben Elton lost his talent?'' - The comedian's jokes about the Queen and Prince Philip on an Australian television show were a failure - 19th November 2009
 * Hunt is worth watching'' - The shadow culture secretary has transformed one of the Cinderella shadow cabinet posts into a high-profile, agenda-setting platform - 17th November 2009
 * Tony Blair would have been the perfect envoy for Tesco'' - Presumably, Blair did not really imagine it would be acceptable to press the flesh for peace at the same time as banging the drum for Tesco - 3rd November 2009
 * the next Prime Minister, Lord Mandelson'' - The Constitutional Reform Bill will make it possible – and plausible, say his supporters – for Lord Mandelson to launch himself into Number 10. Will he be tempted, and could he succeed? - 29th October 2009
 * has gone too far – gays don't need state censorship'' - What gay people want is for the police to stick to the real crimes involving physical abuse - 27th October 2009
 * Field's a good man, but he's got this horribly wrong'' - The growing expenses revolt at Westminster has been given a celestial glow by the consecration of Frank Field as the patron saint of the rebels - 19th October 2009
 * Cherie Blair no shame? I think we know the answer to that'' - Cherie Blair rightly demanded privacy for her children while she was in Downing Street yet shamelessly exploited them for commercial gain - 13th October 2009
 * conference is not quite a party conference'' - With the Conservatives on the brink of power, and the country sunk in recession, the 'no complacency' message is being taken to puritanical lengths - 6th October
 * and gloom at the Labour Party conference'' - Andrew Pierce remembers the applause and excitement of Labour Party conferences past, compared with the mood in Brighton this year - 29th September 2009
 * awful Alesha is Strictly's secret weapon'' - I am convinced that Alesha Dixon is the victim of a cunning plot by Strictly’s clever PR people - 22nd September 2009
 * Vera Lynn's 'We'll meet again' reduced me to floods of tears'' - 15th September 2009
 * is Sarah Ferguson to tell anyone how to live their life?'' - The Duchess on the Estate is a cynical, patronising stunt, and one that was always going to end badly - 21st August 2009
 * Duncan: Time up for the court jester?'' - Alan Duncan, the Tory secretly filmed complaining about MPs' pay, has been in hot water before. But this time voters may be less forgiving - 14th August 2009
 * Queen Mother: a century of silence is broken'' - A new biography of the Queen Mother will be a story told in her own words - 7th August 2009
 * Cameron vs Gordon Brown: TV debate would suffer from too much interference'' - where would Nick Clegg and friends would fit into the television showdown? - 31st July 2009
 * tea with the spy who came in from the Co-op'' - From Anthony Blunt to Melita Norwood, all Soviet spies seem to suffer from selective memory loss - 24th July 2009
 * landings: One small step for Man. . . one giant whinge from Buzz'' - I lost a childhood hero on the day I met Buzz Aldrin - 17th July 2009
 * ring out as David Cameron lays Tory history of homophobia to rest'' - With the repeal of Section 28 the Conservative Party has finally found its gay pride - 3rd July 2009
 * and Ann Keen are in trouble again'' - Councils are stealing homes just because they're empty - 26th June 2009
 * Barracks: friends and foes in high places'' - After killing off Lord Rogers’s £1billion plan for Chelsea Barracks, the Prince of Wales is embroiled in controversy over his role as never before - 17th June 2009
 * knew it all along – there's nothing like a good gossip'' - When it comes to gossiping, we boys are just as bad as the girls - 12th June 2009
 * 'None of the above' deserved my vote'' - I’d love to tell you I withheld my vote in the European elections out of revulsion at the scandal over MPs’ expenses - 5th June 2009
 * to Bradford and Bingley's bowler hats'' - 29th May 2009
 * expenses: Revenge before reform'' - While the talk at Westminster is of changing the political system, many voters are demanding something more brutal - 28th May 2009
 * Widdecombe is the people's choice to be the next Speaker'' - Ann Widdecombe is clever, independent, and one of the most recognisable figures at Westminster - 22nd May 2009
 * God I was not left in the hands of these bigots'' - It's not fair to compare people who oppose gay adoption with people who have physical or mental impairments - 15th May 2009
 * this chatty, affable man really Prince Andrew?'' - 'Air Miles Andy' doesn’t exactly get much positive publicity - 8th May 2009
 * hate to admit it, but David Blaine really does do magic'' - I fully expected David Blaine to be an unbearable show-off; a brash, doncha-know-how-clever-I-am Yank - 1st May 2009
 * won't be the same without my cat Winnie'' - 24th April 2009
 * can rely on politicians for fine words and sound bites'' - Liverpool fans were always going to react badly to the sight of Andy Burnham parading on their hallowed Anfield pitch - 17th April 2009
 * Blair should just be quiet on anything to do with church'' - Tony Blair was right to reform the laws on homosexuality but his hypocrisy is unbearable - 10th April 2009
 * Brown is such a breath of fresh air after Cherie Blair'' - The spouse who has emerged from G20 week with the most honour is our very own Sarah Brown - 3rd April 2009
 * Smith is clinging on by her fingernails'' - Since she was over-promoted, there has been a string of gaffes. Now Jacqui Smith's political career is on Death Row - 31st March 2009
 * Charles must speak out for the caring Cinderellas'' - I hope that the Prince will use his contacts to argue that carers should be given the additional support they need - 20th March 2009
 * Harman is more hated than Peter Mandelson – that's quite an achievement'' - Labour would be daft to make Harriet Harman its first woman leader - 13th March 2009
 * is one chum who should not be honoured'' - Senator Edward Kennedy should not be given an honorary knighthood - 6th March 2009
 * time up for the accidental Chancellor?'' - Isolated and lacklustre, Alistair Darling is surely doomed - 28th February 2009
 * the bars are deserted... and I'm in Ireland, for goodness sake'' - When I was growing up I dreamt of flying to Acapulco, the so-called Paradise of the Americas, for my first exotic holiday - 27th February 2009
 * Blair, peace laureate? Have they heard of Iraq?'' - The former prime minister carried off the Dan David Prize for "his exceptional leadership and steadfast determination in helping to engineer agreements and forge lasting solutions to areas in conflict". Iraq, anybody? Or the Lebanon? - 20th February 2009
 * Harman: Britain’s most deluded woman?'' - Unashamedly ambitious, Harriet Harman believes she’s a leader-in-waiting. But the party’s MPs have other ideas - 19th February 2009
 * The night I put Mickey Rourke firmly in his place'' - I took by the hand one of the last great Hollywood hell-raisers, and guided him gently back to his table - 13th February 2009
 * ties and balls won't deter people from voting Tory'' - The Conservatives are terrified of alienating the voters - but they should worry less - 6th February 2009
 * do these people have against the family?'' - The authorities who removed a five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister from their grandparents have acted shamefully - 30th January 2009
 * longer to be trusted on their own?'' - Whatever comes of the allegations of improper conduct, the House of Lords is in the throes of transformation - 27th January 2009
 * Miliband is an embarrassment strutting the world stage'' - The Foreign Secretary's performance in India was rude, stupid and naive - 23rd January 2009
 * Harman is no class warrior'' - What can an old girl of St Pauls who spurns the local comprehensive for her own children teach us about social mobility - 16th January 2009
 * George the impostor in Cameron's dream team?'' - David Cameron is not exactly a fan of almost two thirds of his Shadow Cabinet - 9th January 2009
 * Forsyth does not need a knighthood'' - Brucie may be much loved by some, but we really don?t have to give him a knighthood to show our appreciation - 2nd January 2009
 * and losers in the great Christmas turkey stakes'' - It's time to hand out the turkey of the year awards and my Christmas crackers - 26th December 2008
 * dentists have become scarcer than hen's teeth'' - Well, have you got one? Do you know anyone who has? I'm talking about the new royalty of the public sector, the NHS dentist. They are disappearing faster than respectable bankers - 19th December 2008
 * Botox: Would you?'' - The number of men succumbing to plastic surgery has risen sharply but is going under the knife something one would admit to - 15th December 2008
 * won ratings, not support for euthanasia'' - The televised death was disgusting, not moving, poignant or powerful - 12th December 2008
 * Cameron is lacking a bit upstairs'' - Sadly, in true Tory tradition, the party leader's distinctive mane of hair is thinning - 5th December 2008
 * traumatic is lewd abuse?'' - What skewed system of morals awards more compensation for abuse than for the loss of an arm and a leg - 28th November 2008
 * modern day Robin Hood will rob from us all'' - 25th November 2008
 * rhinoceros has nothing on Sergeant'' - In truth, a rhinoceros on the rampage is more elegant than John Sergeant in full flow on the dance floor - 14th November 2008
 * can't Fergie keep her secret missions to herself?'' - 7th November 2008
 * time for America to abandon gay prejudice'' - It's ironic that the sheer scale of Obama's victory ensured that voters called for a ban on same-sex marriages - 7th November 2008
 * Mandelson has never suffered from heart trouble'' - 31st October 2008
 * reputation up in smoke at last'' - A mere decade late, Tony Blair's apparent untruths on the Ecclestone affair have come to light - 17th October 2008
 * one's millions safe in Coutts, PM?'' - The Queen, always a soul of discretion about everything except horse racing, is definitely not amused by the slump in bank shares - 10th October 2008
 * are bubbling - without blue rinses'' - Goodbye anoraks, hello smart young things and Samantha Cameron. Tories are on their way to Number 10 - 3rd October 2008
 * Miliband brothers should battle it out'' - After the coronation of Gordon Brown, a fight between two of the intellectual titans of the Cabinet might make Labour interesting again - 26th September 2008
 * Clegg will need a lot more than voices from God''' - 19th September 2008
 * calling anyone else a half-wit?'' - on Russell Brand's use of puerile shock tactics and his shocking performance at the MTV Awards - 12th September 2008
 * Thatcher's candour goes too far'' - Remaining silent about Lady Thatcher's dementia would have better preserved her dignity - 30th August 2008
 * MP has the best rural agenda?'' - Who will win the new Countryside Alliance prize for politicians, Prezza or 'Biker' Soames? - 23rd August 2008
 * a chum reeks of desperation'' - Brown should learn from experience that being a good friend does not make you a good adviser - 16th August 2008
 * I'm not a good Samaritan'' - 9th August 2008



Scoops:
Co-authored the story that exposed Dr David Kelly as the source for Andrew Gilligan's Today programme report which led to the Hutton inquiry, 2003:
 * Why a meal has been made of a lunchtime chat (PDF), see also: Mystery over naming of MoD 'mole'

Labour 'cash-for-honours' investigations and reporting, 2007:
 * Email leak was 'to wreck honours inquiry'



Links:

 * Media Guardian - special reports: Royals and the media