Peter Riddell
 Peter Riddell     (journalist, author) | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter John Robert Riddell 14 October 1948 |
| Nationality | UK |
Director of the UK Institute for Government. | |
Peter Riddell is a British journalist, author, and director ( chief executive) of the Institute for Government.
Career
From 1991 to 2010 he was a political commentator for The Times, and has been an Assistant Editor since 1991.[1] Prior to this, he was US Editor and Washington Bureau Chief at The Financial Times between 1989 and 1991.[2]
Connections
He has been a member of the Hansard Society council since 1996 and was its chair from 2007 until 2012.[2] He was a senior fellow at the Institute for Government from 2008 until 2011, and since January 2012 has been director of the Institute for Government.[3]
Torture enquiry
On 6 July 2010 the UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Riddell would be one of three members of an inquiry to determine whether Joint Intelligence Committee were complicit in the torture of detainees, including those from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp or subject to rendition flights. Riddell joined the Privy Council to permit easier access to secret information.[3] Nafeez Ahmed writes that he "seem[s] to have been hand-picked for their subservience to the Whitehall establishment, particularly the security services... regarded with amiable fondness by senior Whitehall and intelligence figures, Peter Riddell has not yet demonstrated any of the toughness or readiness to challenge the Whitehall establishment this investigation requires."
Reward
Riddell was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to journalism and for public services.[4]
Publications
- The Thatcher Government (1983), ISBN 978-0-631-14519-6
- The Thatcher Decade (1989), ISBN 978-0-631-16274-2
- The Thatcher Era and Its Legacy (1991), ISBN 978-0-631-18268-9
- Honest Opportunism: The Rise of the Career Politician (1993), ISBN 978-0-575-40039-9
- Parliament Under Pressure (1997), ISBN 978-0-575-06435-5
- Parliament Under Blair (2000), ISBN 978-1-902301-60-0
- Blair Government (2002), ISBN 978-1-902301-74-7
- Hug Them Close: Blair, Clinton, Bush and the 'Special Relationship' (2004), ISBN 978-1-84275-118-3
This is a book "celebrating Tony Blair’s relationship with George W. Bush and the U.S. — [published] by coincidence at almost exactly the moment the worst of the alleged torture abuses were taking place".<ref name=na77><Document:Document:7/7 Terror and Torture by Nafeez Ahmed/ref>
- The Unfulfilled Prime Minister: Tony Blair's Quest for a Legacy (2006), ISBN 978-1-84275-168-8
- In defence of Politicians (in spite of themselves)" (2011)
