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Michael Portillo

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Oh, it�s the Shane story at Lloyds...

05.11.09

On BBC news, Lloyds Banking Group�s in-house PR Shane O�Riordain says: �Lloyds is a strong, well-capitalised bank.� ... more

Diane Abbott HobNob gag sees BBC show axed

28.10.09

The BBC's This Week show has been taken offline after Diane Abbott was referred to as a chocolate HobNob biscuit.... more

More troops die in Afghanistan in blackest week yet

10.07.09

Criticism of the war in Afghanistan increased as it was announced that two more British soldiers have been killed, meaning nine serviceman have died in the last nine days... more

Trudie Styler speaks out to revive the lost art of oratory

03.04.09

The art of oratory is being killed off by computers, according to Trudie Styler... more

Google critic�s links to PR giant and Microsoft

24.03.09

Google launches Street View, and Simon Davies of Privacy International, the group that campaigns against intrusion by businesses and governments, gets on his high horse and is quoted everywhere opposing the new service. But who is Davies? ... more

Opera has its premiere in the bar after power failure

16.02.09

A Covent Garden opera had its premiere in the bar after a power failure hit the Royal Opera House... more

'Now Cameron should bring back David Davis'

20.01.09

David Cameron should follow up his reshuffle with a recall for David Davis, says former minister Michael Portillo... more

Does Gordon Brown need to be likeable to win the next election?

03.12.08

The Queen�s Speech today will play to the Prime Minister�s strengths but Labour�s deep unpopularity nags away at his revival... more

Where the political elite go for dinner and spicy gossip

02.12.08

From a cheap-and-cheerful curry house adored by the Lib-Dems to a "1970s-style" Italian restaurant that has become a Tory stronghold, the favoured establishments of London's politicos are revealed ... more

Christianity and Celebrity Big Brother for Channel 4

12.11.08

A series exploring alternative views on Christianity will spearhead Channel 4's winter season of programmes... more

Gordon and Jamie can keep swearing says C4 boss

12.11.08

The head of Channel 4 said he would not "rein in" celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver over their use of the F word... more

Tiger burns so bright for Booker winner Adiga

15.10.08

The experience of being an immigrant fuelled the writing of The White Tiger, the debut novel by Indian writer Aravind Adiga which has won the �50,000 Man Booker Prize... more

Booker judge criticises 'highbrow' male panels

14.10.08

One of this year's Man Booker Prize judges has criticised male academics who sit on literary panels, claiming they pick "highbrow" novels over readable ones... more

Linda Grant leads charge as the old guard are left off Booker list

09.09.08

The latest epic from Salman Rushdie and the hotly tipped story of post-9/11 America by Joseph O'Neill have failed to make the Man Booker shortlist... more

From soaps to the Booker

18.08.08

When Tom Rob Smith's first novel made the longlist for our most prestigious literary prize it caused a publishing storm. Here he hits back at his critics ... more

Rushdie in running to win his second Booker of the year

29.07.08

Salman Rushdie, already winner of this year's Best of Booker Prize for Midnight's Children and shortlisted three times previously, is once again among those in line to win the literary award... more

Size matters to Boris when it comes to flats

27.06.08

Boris Johnson's pledge to re-establish the space standards set by Sir Parker Morris in 1961 could force housebuilders to hugely increase the size of new homes in London... more

Cavalry comes to rescue at Chelsea hospital pageant

09.05.08

The Royal Hospital Chelsea's first pageant for 100 years will feature Judi Dench, Rory Bremner, Timothy Spall and Michael Portillo... more

Now the writing really is on the wall for Labour

02.05.08

Bad news for the Tories was sporadic, bad news for Labour just kept on coming... more

No mayor should ever serve three terms, Ken

28.04.08

Londoners should vote for Boris Johnson as Mayor on Thursday. They should do so for one reason that overrides all others. Nobody, however able, should serve more than two terms in an elected position of such prominence... more

Dining dens where the plot thickens

13.09.06

Forget the Commons - London's finest restaurants are where all of the real political scheming takes place, as former Labour minister Gerald Kaufman reveals.... more