The Humphrey Hawksley Blog

At the brow of the hill, early morning fog rolls through sub-tropical undergrowth. Then, dipping down to sea level and curving around the coastline, the view clears to reveal a long, pristine sandy beach. In the sky, a Crested Serpent Eagle circles above the ancient fishing village of Tai O. […]

Born into Soviet Jewish intelligentsia, leading Russian opposition figure, Leonid Volkov, is now in exile in Lithuania. Through lawyers, he liaises with his jailed friend Alexei Navalny who is serving nine years in a maximum security Russian prison. Both Internet bloggers with massive followings, Leonid was Navalny’s chief-of-staff for his presidential campaign against Putin in […]

In Lithuania, thoughtful conversation with exiled Belarus opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, wife of Sergei Tikhanovsky who is now jailed by the regime.  The couple are pivotal in leading Europe’s most enduring dictatorship toward democracy. It is not ‘if’, but ‘when’, Sviatlana told me. Neither started out as political activists.  When trying to renovate their family home, […]

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz could have been talking about 2022 Russia when he made this point in 1923 about a rising Japan. “Policy, to be effective, must be founded on right and justice and must be backed by public opinion, particularly in a democratic country like the United States. In a highly centralized, militaristic […]

On Friday’s Goldster Inside Story, award-winning Times Radio presenter and former BBC political correspondent, Carole Walker, takes us on a journey into the heart of British democracy. Her book, Lobby Life: Inside Westminster’s Secret Society, lifts the lid on the world of the ‘parliamentary lobby’ telling us what really happens behind the closed doors of […]

MAN ON FIRE audio book is released today March 1st , read by the assured Luke Harding of JACK REACHER and DA VINCI CODE fame.  It is free to Audible subscribers. Kirkus Reviews describes MAN ON FIRE as  ‘Brass-knuckled international intrigue for readers who still pine for the world of JAMES BOND.’ Of the lead […]

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has most likely made Taiwan safe from Chinese military action for a generation – with images of captured Russian soldiers, burnt out tanks, disciplined and motivated resistance coupled with sanctions and the general revulsion from the wider world. The parallels of lost Slavic and Chinese territories will count for little against […]

There are some names which are immediately recognisable. When I hear certain names announced on the radio or on my computer, they instantly bring to mind something that makes me stop for a moment. Humphrey Hawksley is one such name. I seem to have known Hawksley for decades. As a BBC reporter, he has been […]