Kirjahaku

No longer in the tent, but not quite out of it, celebrated diarist Chris Mullin gives his take on the twelve turbulent years since he left Parliament. With his trademark wit and keen eye for the absurd, he recounts events from the fall of New Labour to the death of the Queen.

'The Queen was at the next table. I caught her staring at me during the national anthem and half-wondered whether someone had pointed me out as the author of that incident which the Mail on Sunday had splashed all over the front page of its review section, about which she would not have been too pleased.'No longer in the tent, but not quite out of it, celebrated diarist Chris Mullin gives his take on the twelve turbulent years since he left Parliament. With his trademark wit and keen eye for the absurd, he recounts events from the fall of New Labour to the death of the Queen. Rich in anecdote, this candid new volume includes encounters with movers and shakers from all political parties and with citizens from all walks of life, from dustmen to dukes."One of Mullin's charms is his readiness to like people who don't echo his politics."Jenni Russell, Sunday Times

Includes Two Never-Before-Published Short Stories 'Harry Perkins was buried on the day that America declared war on China.' The definitive post-Brexit thriller and long-awaited sequel to the bestselling A Very British Coup.

All serious politicians are supposed to possess a hinterland, but not all do. Chris Mullin was one who did. By the time he entered parliament he had reported from the wars in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and tracked down the survivors of the CIA operation in Tibet. He was the author of three novels, including the classic A Very British Coup. His successful campaign to free the innocent people convicted of the Birmingham bombings was described as 'one of the greatest feats ever achieved by an investigative reporter'. Elected to parliament, aged 39, he quickly established himself as a fearless inquisitor before going on to become a minister in three departments. His three volumes of diaries have been widely acclaimed as the best account of the Blair years and the rise and fall New Labour. He left parliament in 2010 ('better to go while people are still asking why rather than when'). These are his memoirs.

'Very occasionally a journalist starts an avalanche with a single gunshot... Chris Mullin and his TV colleagues belong in the glorious company."-The Observer'One of the greatest feats ever achieved by an investigative reporter'-Sebastian Faulks, the Independent on Sunday'Whoever planted the bombs in Birmingham...also planted a bomb under the British legal establishment'-Robert Harris, Sunday TimesError of Judgment lit a fire under the establishment when it was first published, shattering the prosecution case against six Irishmen charged with the Birmingham Bombings and going on to change the course of British legal history.On the evening of 21st November 1974, bombs planted by the IRA in two crowded Birmingham pubs exploded, killing 21 people and injuring at least 170. Within a day of the explosion, six men - Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, Billy Power, Johnny Walker and Hughie Callaghan - were arrested and charged. All were found guilty.Methodically, with total clarity and a tone that is both gripping and impassioned, then investigative journalist Mullin unpicked every detail of the case, revealing gaping holes in the prosecution case and the horrifying consequences of an establishment determined to close ranks.Now 50 years on from the Birmingham Bombings and with new writing from Mullin, this classic edition of Error of Judgement tells the complete story of one of the most significant miscarriages of justice ever. As relevant now as it was when it was first published, it's an essential text on corruption, violence and bias in British policing and justice.

'It is said that failed politicians make the best diarists. In which case I am in with a chance.' Chris Mullin Chris Mullin has been a Labour MP for twenty years, and despite his refusal to toe the party line - on issues like 90 days detention, for example - he has held several prominent posts. To the apoplexy of the whips, he was for a time the only person appointed to government who voted against the Iraq War. He also chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee, giving him direct access to the court of Tony Blair. Irreverent, wry and candid, Mullin's keen sense of the ridiculous allows him to give a far clearer insight into the workings of Government than other, more overtly successful politicians. He offers humorous and incisive takes on all aspects of political life: from the build-up to Iraq, to the scandalous sums of tax-payers' money spent on ministerial cars he didn't want to use. His critically acclaimed diary will entertain and amuse far beyond the political classes.

On the backbenches but still in the thick of it, Decline and Fall runs from Chris Mullin's sacking as a minister by Tony ('The Man') Blair in 2005 to the fall of New Labour in May 2010. Here is politics as it really is: entertaining encounters with constituents and conspirators, tantalising glimpses behind the scenes at the courts of Blair and Brown, all set against the background of the global financial crisis and the great expenses meltdown. Every bit as funny and insightful as his first volume A View From The Foothills, these new diaries provide a snapshot of life in the Westminster village. Preparing to step down after twenty-three years as an MP, Mullin wryly observes 'they say failed politicians make the best diarists, in which case I am in with a chance'.

Against the odds, former steel worker Harry Perkins has led the Labour party to a stunning victory. Now he's going to dismantle Britain's nuclear warheads, bring finance under public control and dismantle the media empires. But the establishment isn't going down without a fight. As MI5 conspires with the city and press barons to bring Perkins down, he finds himself caught up in a no-holds-barred battle for survival. Described as 'the political novel of the decade' when it was first published, A Very British Coup is as fresh and relevant now as it ever has been.