Hugh Muir



Profile:
Full name: Hugh Muir

Area of interest: London issues, black community, race, racism and Islamophobia

Journals/Organisation: The Guardian

Email: [mailto:hugh.muir@guardian.co.uk hugh.muir@guardian.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: Guardian.co / Hugh Muir

Blog: Comments is free...

Representation:

Networks: https://twitter.com/#!/hugh_muir



Biography:
About:

Education:

Career: Evening Standard, The Guardian: senior reporter, 2003/2007 Current position/role: Diary editor since 2007


 * also writes/has written for: The Daily Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday

Other roles/Main role:

Other activities: Member of the FCO's Caribbean Board

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media:

Video:

Controversy/Criticism: Melanie Phillips: The black-red axis, 2nd November 2006

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * Islamophobia: issues, challenges and action: a report (2004) OCLC 56498817

Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Guardian:
Column name: 'Diary'

Remit/Info: Westminster politics

Section: Politics

Role: Diary editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:diary@guardian.co.uk diary@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Guardian.co / Diary

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Regularity: Four days per week

Column format:

Average length:


 * also writes Hideously diverse Britain



Articles:

 * Seinfeld, as ever, was right: is there really any such thing as an innocent bystander? - The fact that no one in the crowd of tube passengers went to the aid of a woman being racially abused is shameful - 24th September 2014
 * Iain Duncan Smith and the tall tale of the feckless layabouts - First thoughts: New research suggests that the work-shy scroungers who live off benefits as a 'lifestyle choice' may not actually exist - 12th September 2014
 * The migrant crisis in Calais shows the EU's failure to see the big picture - First thoughts: If ever a situation required the rich countries of Europe to work in tandem to draw up a viable plan, this is it - 5th September 2014
 * Trust in our police service is a problem after the recent stream of scandals - Revelations about the hacking of a journalist’s phone and a smear campaign against a former officer raise worrying questions about the integrity of our law-enforcers - 4th September 2014
 * Blaming the Rotherham abuse on a fear of being branded a racist is ludicrous - No one seriously believes the authorities felt they had to ignore abuse because of the race of the perpetrators. It’s just a ploy to deflect blame - 29th August 2014
 * The He-Man approach to crime shames us all - Locking up ever more people in ever harsher and more crowded prisons is hardly the hallmark of a civilised society - 16th August 2014
 * We must be intolerant of intolerance - The flying of a jihadist-style flag over a London housing estate is a call to resist those who would Balkanise public space - 8th August 2014
 * Merseyside's race hate crimes won't be stopped by body cameras - Giving business owners technology to record assaults won't protect them. We must address the causes of bigotry, not film it - 3rd July 2014
 * Boris berating the anti-homeless spikes shows what a ruthless pragmatist he is - First thoughts: The mayor knows what plays well with Londoners and chooses that course, regardless of whether it fits his wider world view - 10th June 2014
 * Boris berating the anti-homeless spikes shows what a ruthless pragmatist he is - The mayor knows what plays well with Londoners and chooses that course, regardless of whether it fits his wider world view - 10th June 2014
 * Should we tear down the statues of slavers such as Edward Colston? - Bristol's obsequious monument to a slave trader is a sorry reminder of past mores, but perhaps the answer lies less in boycotts and more in celebration of the contribution of minorities - 9th June 2014
 * Rape myths must not be allowed to persist within the police - First thoughts: News that the rape conviction rate has dropped recalls the bad old days of the Thames Valley police scandal - 7th June 2014
 * Internet giants wooed us, but the honeymoon is over - First thoughts: The power relationship between you and those who control your data has swung too far in their direction. Take back some control - 23rd May 2014
 * Bullying and bad decision making – can we trust our police force? - First thoughts: Hugh Muir: The report on the Police Federation in the wake of Plebgate is another nail in the coffin of the notion of policing by consent - 15th May 2014
 * The Sun's halal Pizza Express story is a half-baked attempt to provoke outrage - The newspaper has used the restaurant chain's business decision to whip up another story about ethnic minorities - 7th May 2014
 * Why is no one hastening Ukip's demise? - First thoughts: Andre Lampitt is the latest scandal Ukip will shake off thanks to a toothless political class and media. We're lucky the party is destined to one day unravel - 25th April 2014
 * What Adnan and Audrey can teach us about being a British citizen - Those who underestimate what British citizenship can mean to those who seek it should pop into an induction ceremony - 19th April 2014
 * The Yashika Bageerathi case reveals the death of compassionate Conservatism - Where there is compassion, it is for a minister exposed over expenses, rather than a 'good' applicant for asylum - 5th April 2014
 * It's official: the bedroom tax causes misery - First thoughts: I don't think the increasingly strained Iain Duncan Smith intends to cause suffering, but that's exactly what his bedroom tax does - 27th March 2014
 * Higher education shouldn't be a market. No wonder tuition fees are failing - First thoughts: All that pain, all that argument, to bring in the £9,000 fees cap – now it's close to costing us more than it's made. So why bother? - 21st March 2014
 * Ladies and gents, the Tory party that's bad with money - First thoughts: There's nothing new about Conservatives being wedded to tax cuts and privatisation, but this lot can't seem to manage either - 14th March 2014
 * The state will fiercely guard the secrets of the Stephen Lawrence case - The Ellison report gives us a better understanding, and Theresa May's inquiry is welcome but our state does not self-correct – don't expect the full picture - 7th March 2014
 * Tory failure to cap immigration is an opportunity for a policy rethink - First thoughts: The PM promised something he couldn't possibly deliver. Now he needs an honest conversation with the public - 28th February 2014
 * All at sea over immigration: David Cameron can't steer this Tory ship - First thoughts: The Tory immigration rebels have again highlighted how the prime minister is undermined by insubordination and mutiny - 31st January 2014
 * All eyes on you Ed Miliband – what's the economic plan? - First thoughts: Sunny Dave's optimism on the cost of living may just be spin, but how Miliband responds is vital. Gloominess is not an option - 24th January 2014
 * Lessons from history – Theresa May as Robert the Bruce - The home secretary failed to deport the Boat Race protester Trenton Oldfield. But she'll try and try again - 14th January 2014
 * Duggan verdict: police can't take a life, mislead the public and just move on - First thoughts: The conversation has got stuck on Mark Duggan's character, rather than the Met's conduct. There are too many loose ends and unanswered questions - 10th January 2014
 * Now there is no denying Margaret Thatcher's failings in 1984 and beyond - First thoughts: Documents released by the National Archives show just how well the former prime minister was served by the spin machine - 3rd January 2014
 * Rochdale child grooming report should be a wake-up call for police - First thoughts: The delays in dealing with the child sex ring in Rochdale were down to basic systemic failings, not political correctness. The focus must be on the victims - 20th December 2013
 * Britain will pay the price for shafting the working class - First thoughts: The middle class has taken over, and the price we're paying is the destruction of all we hold dear - 13th December 2013
 * Nelson Mandela: a beacon for black Britain, too - Mandela epitomised struggle. In his floral shirt, with his soft hands and ready smile, he became the father of whichever nation he was in at the time - 6th December 2013
 * The Home Office's humiliation over qat exposes free market double standards - First thoughts: Regulation, not criminalisation may be the right way to deal with a plant that has yet to be proved harmful. So much for free trade - 29th November 2013
 * How the British state now snoops on those who ask questions of it - First thoughts: The police attempt to get an activist to spy on fellow Cambridge students backfired – but the monitoring of citizens' legitimate activity is now a familiar story - 15th November 2013
 * Why do we need a Roots remake? - The 1970s epic slavery drama Roots profoundly affected viewers. But could a new version have the same impact? - 7th November 2013
 * Michael Gove's new GCSE exams leave pupils without a second chance - First thoughts: With all emphasis for marks on the exam, pupils who perform better from coursework will suffer unfairly - 1st November 2013
 * A pig's head on the doorstep: how prejudice blocks the path to parliament - A report from an all-party committee into racism and discrimination in elections presents an ugly face of campaigns - 31st October 2013
 * Coverage of Prince George's christening is a 24-hour austerity anaesthetic - First thoughts: The royal baby soap opera is a grotesque distraction when so many communities in the kingdom they rule face hardship - 25th October 2013
 * Roy Hodgson's monkey joke: the difference between mistake and malice - First thoughts: I'm glad we have laws and social parameters that keep bigots in check. But there's no need to bring out the ducking stool for a good faith cock-up - 18th October 2013
 * If only Theresa May could distinguish the desirable from the important - First thoughts: Puny savings on 'health tourism' in no way mitigate the appalling conditions asylum seekers face in the UK - 11th October 2013
 * Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy - While the UK government has stuck to spending 0.7% of the budget on overseas aid, our tough line on immigration sends a different message - 4th October 2013
 * Why diversity in Britain's police force isn't just a PC matter - Quite apart from the moral case, there is an operational need for the police service to seem credible to all those it serves - 29th January 2013
 * Fabio Capello failed to understand why John Terry's trial matters - England's landscape has changed since Stephen Lawrence was killed. Allegations of racism are taken seriously here now - 9th February 2012
 * Catharsis at last, but what next? - Before his death, Stephen Lawrence was just another teenager who deserved the chance to build a life. There are as many kids like him about today - 3rd January 2012
 * Was Kelis right about British racism? - Racism in Britain is not 'disgusting' as the singer Kelis proclaimed this week, but for the first time in a decade it is on the rise - 16th September 2011
 * Paul Stephenson was never the best officer for the job'' - The former Metropolitan police boss may have been the Tories' favourite but his tenure saw one foul-up follow another - 18th July 2011
 * to its own devices, police culture quickly reverts to type'' - The 'overwhelming white male culture' of the police will only end with absolute, unwavering commitment to change - 7th April 2011
 * reason for police to hold back on grooming investigations'' - The implication that police are hampered by a fear of being called racist if they highlight a crime trend is flawed - 12th January 2011
 * Johnson needs to ask if Met chief is up to the job'' - Last night's student protest debacle is another in a sequence of horror policing operations on Sir Paul Stephenson's watch - 19th December 2010
 * truth about inter-racial adoption'' - The children's minister says race should be no barrier to finding a child an adoptive family – but is this just point-scoring on his part? - 3rd November 2010
 * police community support officers a break'' 2- Hugh Muir: To tackle antisocial behaviour in these cash-strapped times, we must recognise the value of PCSOs rather than denigrating them - 3rd September 2010
 * are you to insult me?'' - Can the use of pejorative terms for people from minorities ever be acceptable? - 21st September 2010
 * the equality commission a break'' - The opportunity to unseat Trevor Phillips has passed – let the ECHR now have the breathing space to prove itself - 16th March 2010
 * Boris, diversity must pay its way'' - In slashing Black History Month funding, London's mayor has shown he is not interested in social good for its own sake - 18th February 2010
 * mess of the Ali Dizaei case'' - While corruption exposed is a cause for celebration, the Met's minority officers can see themselves suffering collateral damage - 9th February 2010
 * defence of political correctness'' - PC has become the complaint of choice for the permanently aggrieved but it's no bad thing to avoid being offensive - 21st December 2009
 * harm in saying sorry'' - Australia has apologised to children forcibly shipped from Britain and Brown is set to follow. There is real value in such statements - 17th November 2009
 * The end of the beginning'' - After the drama of Nick Griffin on Question Time, the real battle is in local politics: people won't turn to the BNP if there's a choice - 24th October 2009
 * De Menezes family has been robbed of hope'' - The jury should have been allowed to consider a verdict of unlawful killing. The inquest was meaningless - 13th December 2008 (see: De Menezes jury record open verdict and rejects police version of shooting, The times, 12th December 2008)

Diary



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