Richard Littlejohn
Encyclopedia
Richard William Littlejohn (born 1954) is an English
author
, broadcaster
and journalist
. He is noted for his Conservative views and currently writes a twice-weekly column for the Daily Mail
.
Littlejohn was previously a columnist for The Sun
and has also written for The Spectator
and London's Evening Standard
. Littlejohn earned a place in the inaugural Newspaper Hall of Fame as one of the most influential journalists of the past 40 years.
Primarily a newspaper journalist, Littlejohn has also presented numerous radio and TV shows and has authored or co-authored several books. Although many of his newspaper columns are devoted to life and society in England
, Littlejohn lives in the United States of America
.
, Essex
(now Greater London
) in 1954, and his family moved to Peterborough
when he was five. His father worked as a policeman and then for British Rail
. Littlejohn passed the Eleven-plus, obtaining the highest marks in his year. He attended Deacons Grammar School
.
. He worked for local newspapers during the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, he joined the Birmingham
Evening Mail
.
He worked at the London newspaper the Evening Standard
from 1979 to 1989, initially as industrial editor, later a feature writer, then in 1988 as a columnist
. While industrial editor in the early 1980s he was asked to stand as a Labour Party
candidate, which he declined. In 1989 he joined The Sun
as a columnist, which attracted controversy, and he was voted "Irritant of the Year" at the 1992 What The Papers Say Awards
.
In 1994, he left The Sun to write for the Daily Mail
, contributing columns on news and current affairs (in a similar format to his Sun column), and one on sport. His Mail columns earned him the title "Columnist of the Year" at the 1997 British Press Awards
.
In February 1998, Littlejohn became the UK
's best-paid columnist when he returned to The Sun to write a twice-weekly column as part of a £1 million deal, which also included presenting for BSkyB.
In May 2005, the Mail announced that he was re-joining the paper in a move that Mail editor Paul Dacre
described as "returning to his spiritual home". The Sun sought an injunction to prevent Littlejohn writing for the Mail before his existing contract with them ended in February 2006, but the matter was later settled out of court and Littlejohn began writing for the Mail in December 2005.
In addition to regular columns, Littlejohn has contributed articles to The Spectator and Punch
.
One of Littlejohn's Sun columns - a 2004 skit, entitled "Rum, Sodomy and the Lifejacket", in which Lord Nelson is confronted with political correctness
, compensation culture
and the nanny state
- has been published in newspapers, magazines, and websites with Littlejohn's writing credit removed.
. From 1991, he worked for the London radio station LBC
, beginning with a regular opinion spot. LBC later gave Littlejohn his own early afternoon show, Littlejohn's Long Lunch; the programme was a talk show
featuring topical discussion, phone-ins, and guests. He later became permanent presenter of the morning show, replacing Michael Parkinson
.
During his time at LBC
, Littlejohn was censured by the Radio Authority for breaching broadcasting rules. This culminated in the Radio Authority stating that he "had broken half-a-dozen rules and had incited violence" due to an edition of his phone-in show in which he suggested the police should have used flamethrowers against a group of "militant homosexuals" protesting outside the House of Commons.
On another LBC phone-in he was censured by the Radio Authority for describing the British Royal Family
as a "bunch of tax-evading adulterers". Unlike most other Conservative commentators, Littlejohn favours abolition of the Monarchy.
, and was offered the chance to present a nightly current affairs show on the TV channel Sky News
. Called Richard Littlejohn, the show ran for one year. It was not a success. Littlejohn expressed his disappointment, claiming that broadcasting regulations would not permit him to present the show in the style of Rush Limbaugh
's programmes: "If Sky News could emulate its U.S. sister Fox News... ratings would soon shoot past the Astra satellite
. But the regulators won't allow it."
Later in 1994, Trevor Phillips
of London Weekend Television
hired Littlejohn to host a studio-based talk show
entitled Richard Littlejohn Live And Uncut. Phillips produced three series of the programme, which was transmitted only in the London area.
On Littlejohn's 8 July 1994 show, he was critical of two lesbians, one of whom was Linda Bellos
. Michael Winner
, a guest on the show, attacked Littlejohn for his views and told him that the lesbians "have come across with considerable dignity and you have come across as an arsehole."
Littlejohn hosted the first series of Channel 4
's game show
Wanted, a stand-in for Bob Mills
). Wanted aired in October 1996 and won a Silver Rose at the Festival Rose d'Or. As part of a 1997 deal which saw him return to the Sun, Littlejohn hosted a night talk show on Sky One
called Littlejohn: Live And Unleashed.
In early 2003 he returned to Sky News
to present Littlejohn, a live
talk show initially broadcast twice weekly but later extended to four nights per week. The programme was axed on 8 July 2004 when Sky News changed format and replaced it with regular rolling news.
On 9 July 2007, Channel 4
showed a documentary entitled The War on Britain's Jews?
, written and narrated by Littlejohn. Littlejohn has also appeared on the BBC
's Question Time and Have I Got News For You
.
's show on BBC Radio Five Live
, a discussion took place between Littlejohn and Will Self
. Both were on the show to promote their novels (Littlejohn's To Hell in a Handcart
and Self's How the Dead Live
). Campbell cited David Aaronovitch
's description of Littlejohn's novel as a "400-page recruiting pamphlet for the British National Party". Littlejohn responded (referring to Aaronovitch): "What else do you expect from an overgrown student union leader who used to be a member of the Communist Party? I think it is a badge of honour to be attacked by people like David Aaronovitch to be perfectly honest. I might put it on the cover".
Self agreed with Aaronovitch's comments, said that he had read half of Littlejohn's book, and he described its author as "a kind of Tom Sharpe
for the far right
". Littlejohn said that he should "read the book in its totality", to which Self retorted "Why?... Does it turn into Tolstoy
at page 205?". Littlejohn's response was: "No it doesn't turn into Tolstoy. I don't set out to be Tolstoy. It is a much more complex book than that". In the same interview, Littlejohn enquired of Self, who is a recovering addict: "You are not still on heroin are you?".
was using taxpayer funds for hopscotch
lessons for Asian women. This was actually an urban myth first propagated by the former Conservative Party
chairman, Brian Mawhinney
in 1995. In fact, the Hopscotch Asian Women's Centre offered "support services for Asian women and their families on a wide range of issues including domestic violence
, benefits, housing, education, immigration and health matters [and provided] advocacy and support to people with learning disabilities."
appeared as a guest on Littlejohn's Sky News programme and challenged his claims that an asylum seeker could claim £117 per week, stating that the true figure was £37.77. "You propagate anti-asylum seeker lies, just as surely as this man" [Nick Griffin], said Hari, referring to Griffin's support for Littlejohn. He later wrote: "I asked Richard how much a single asylum seeker is given in benefits each week. You'd think that a journalist who writes about asylum twice a week would, of course, know something so incredibly basic. His response was clear. He snapped: 'I have no idea'."
newspaper annually documents the results of a "Littlejohn audit" — a count of the number of references Littlejohn makes to homosexuality
in his columns.
Littlejohn has said he is opposed to discrimination against homosexuals. In his Daily Mail column on 10 October 2007, he said, in reference to British society in the 1970s: "Though homosexuality wasn't exactly my idea of a night out, I thought it outrageous that gays were subjected to discrimination in areas such as employment, housing and pensions."
. Littlejohn argued that the young man involved should not have attended the protest and compared him to Andy Pipkin from Little Britain
. This prompted 500 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission
.
football club. He starred in his own football video, We Woz Robbed. In 1965, he turned down a scholarship at Oundle School
because they did not play football, and he went to grammar school instead.
He married Wendy A. Bosworth in 1974. They have two children, Georgina (b. 1975), also a journalist, and William (b. 1979).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is noted for his Conservative views and currently writes a twice-weekly column for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
.
Littlejohn was previously a columnist for The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and has also written for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
and London's Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
. Littlejohn earned a place in the inaugural Newspaper Hall of Fame as one of the most influential journalists of the past 40 years.
Primarily a newspaper journalist, Littlejohn has also presented numerous radio and TV shows and has authored or co-authored several books. Although many of his newspaper columns are devoted to life and society in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Littlejohn lives in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life
Littlejohn was born in IlfordIlford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(now Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
) in 1954, and his family moved to Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
when he was five. His father worked as a policeman and then for British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. Littlejohn passed the Eleven-plus, obtaining the highest marks in his year. He attended Deacons Grammar School
Deacon's School
Deacon's School was located in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, England and was known for its rivalry with the nearby King's School. In 2007, the school was demolished and replaced by the Thomas Deacon Academy.-History:...
.
Journalism
At 16, Littlejohn went to work as a trainee journalist in PeterboroughPeterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. He worked for local newspapers during the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, he joined the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
Evening Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
.
He worked at the London newspaper the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
from 1979 to 1989, initially as industrial editor, later a feature writer, then in 1988 as a columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
. While industrial editor in the early 1980s he was asked to stand as a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate, which he declined. In 1989 he joined The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
as a columnist, which attracted controversy, and he was voted "Irritant of the Year" at the 1992 What The Papers Say Awards
What the Papers Say
What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
.
In 1994, he left The Sun to write for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, contributing columns on news and current affairs (in a similar format to his Sun column), and one on sport. His Mail columns earned him the title "Columnist of the Year" at the 1997 British Press Awards
British Press Awards
The British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
.
In February 1998, Littlejohn became the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's best-paid columnist when he returned to The Sun to write a twice-weekly column as part of a £1 million deal, which also included presenting for BSkyB.
In May 2005, the Mail announced that he was re-joining the paper in a move that Mail editor Paul Dacre
Paul Dacre
Paul Michael Dacre is a British journalist and current editor of the British newspaper the Daily Mail. He is also editor in chief of the Mail group titles, which also includes The Mail on Sunday. He is also a director of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc and was a member of the Press Complaints...
described as "returning to his spiritual home". The Sun sought an injunction to prevent Littlejohn writing for the Mail before his existing contract with them ended in February 2006, but the matter was later settled out of court and Littlejohn began writing for the Mail in December 2005.
In addition to regular columns, Littlejohn has contributed articles to The Spectator and Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
.
One of Littlejohn's Sun columns - a 2004 skit, entitled "Rum, Sodomy and the Lifejacket", in which Lord Nelson is confronted with political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, compensation culture
Compensation culture
"Compensation culture" describes a society in which it is acceptable for anyone who has suffered a personal injury to seek compensatory damages through litigation from someone connected with the injury...
and the nanny state
Nanny state
A nanny state is the perception of a situation characterised by governmental policies of over-protectionism, economic interventionism, or heavy regulation of economic, social or other nature....
- has been published in newspapers, magazines, and websites with Littlejohn's writing credit removed.
Radio
By the end of the 1980s, Littlejohn was known in London for his Evening Standard columns, and was invited to radio programmes as a punditPundit (politics)
A pundit is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area on which they are knowledgeable. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities...
. From 1991, he worked for the London radio station LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
, beginning with a regular opinion spot. LBC later gave Littlejohn his own early afternoon show, Littlejohn's Long Lunch; the programme was a talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
featuring topical discussion, phone-ins, and guests. He later became permanent presenter of the morning show, replacing Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
.
During his time at LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
, Littlejohn was censured by the Radio Authority for breaching broadcasting rules. This culminated in the Radio Authority stating that he "had broken half-a-dozen rules and had incited violence" due to an edition of his phone-in show in which he suggested the police should have used flamethrowers against a group of "militant homosexuals" protesting outside the House of Commons.
On another LBC phone-in he was censured by the Radio Authority for describing the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
as a "bunch of tax-evading adulterers". Unlike most other Conservative commentators, Littlejohn favours abolition of the Monarchy.
Television
After leaving LBC in 1994, Littlejohn was approached by BSkyB managing director (and former Sun editor) Kelvin MacKenzieKelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
, and was offered the chance to present a nightly current affairs show on the TV channel Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. Called Richard Littlejohn, the show ran for one year. It was not a success. Littlejohn expressed his disappointment, claiming that broadcasting regulations would not permit him to present the show in the style of Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
's programmes: "If Sky News could emulate its U.S. sister Fox News... ratings would soon shoot past the Astra satellite
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
. But the regulators won't allow it."
Later in 1994, Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
of London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
hired Littlejohn to host a studio-based talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
entitled Richard Littlejohn Live And Uncut. Phillips produced three series of the programme, which was transmitted only in the London area.
On Littlejohn's 8 July 1994 show, he was critical of two lesbians, one of whom was Linda Bellos
Linda Bellos
Linda Bellos OBE is an English ex-politician and current businesswoman and activist for gay rights.-Personal life:Bellos was born in London to a Jewish mother, Renee Sackman, and a Nigerian father, Emmanuel Adebowale, who came from Uzebba and joined the merchant navy during the Second World War...
. Michael Winner
Michael Winner
Michael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...
, a guest on the show, attacked Littlejohn for his views and told him that the lesbians "have come across with considerable dignity and you have come across as an arsehole."
Littlejohn hosted the first series of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Wanted, a stand-in for Bob Mills
Bob Mills (comedian)
Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...
). Wanted aired in October 1996 and won a Silver Rose at the Festival Rose d'Or. As part of a 1997 deal which saw him return to the Sun, Littlejohn hosted a night talk show on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
called Littlejohn: Live And Unleashed.
In early 2003 he returned to Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
to present Littlejohn, a live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
talk show initially broadcast twice weekly but later extended to four nights per week. The programme was axed on 8 July 2004 when Sky News changed format and replaced it with regular rolling news.
On 9 July 2007, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
showed a documentary entitled The War on Britain's Jews?
The War on Britain's Jews?
The War on Britain's Jews? is a 2007 documentary film by British journalist, broadcaster, writer and Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 television on 9 July 2007.- Overview :...
, written and narrated by Littlejohn. Littlejohn has also appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Question Time and Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
.
Books
Littlejohn has authored or co-authored:- The Essex Girl Joke Book (as Ray Leigh, with Mitchell Symons as Brent Wood, 1991, Corgi Publishing) - a collection of Essex girlEssex girlAn Essex girl is a pejorative stereotype in the United Kingdom of a female who is said to be promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to women from Essex. It is applied widely throughout the country and has gained popularity over time, dating from the 1980s and 1990s...
jokes, co-written (with "Brent Wood") under the pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Ray Leigh".
- You Couldn't Make It Up (1995, HeinemannHeinemann (book publisher)Heinemann is a UK publishing house founded by William Heinemann in Covent Garden, London in 1890. On William Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday. It was later acquired by commemorate Thomas Tilling in 1961...
, ISBN 0-434-00238-0) - named after one of Littlejohn's catchphrases, and described on the jacket as "a brilliant collection of liberal-skewering wit and wisdom", this is a book of recollections and opinion pieces on subjects such as political correctness, politicians, corporate "fat cats", the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and the British Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
. Anthony Daniels, writing in The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, said: "...not only does he never mention foreigners in any but a derogatory way - when he is far too intelligent a man really to believe that we have nothing to learn from any of them - but when he writes of the Germans and the Japanese as having taken our cars and electronics industries he is pandering to the kind of stupid, ignorant, sentimental, self-pitying xenophobiaXenophobiaXenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
which is the root of all fascism, and which is an obstacle to genuine self improvement."
- To Hell In A Handcart (2001, HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, ISBN 0-00-710613-0) - named after another of his catchphrases, this is Littlejohn's first and only novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, based loosely on the Tony MartinTony Martin (farmer)Anthony Edward "Tony" Martin is a farmer from Norfolk, England, who in 1999 killed one burglar and wounded another who had both entered his home...
case. The book was lambasted by critics for its portrayal of asylum seekers and the stereotypical individuals in the book, notably by The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s David AaronovitchDavid AaronovitchDavid Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
who described it as "a 400-page recruiting pamphlet for the British National Party". However, it received positive reviews from some conservativeConservatismConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
writers such as Frederick ForsythFrederick ForsythFrederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
and Andrew RobertsAndrew RobertsAndrew Roberts is an English historian and journalist.-Background:Roberts was born in London, England, the son of Simon from Cobham, Surrey, and Katie Roberts...
. This was later the subject of a BBC Radio Five Live discussion with Will SelfWill SelfWilliam Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
(see below).
- The Book Of Useless Information (with Keith Waterhouse, 2002, John Blake Publishing, ISBN 1-903402-79-4) - co-written with Keith WaterhouseKeith WaterhouseKeith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, this "stocking fillerChristmas stockingA Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that children hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers...
" book is a collection of "useless" facts, described on the cover as "all you never needed to know and didn't need to ask."
- The Ultimate Book Of Useless Information (with Keith Waterhouse, 2004, John Blake Publishing, ISBN 1-84454-060-X) - another volume of "useless" facts.
- Littlejohn's Britain - Publisher: Hutchinson (3 May 2007) ISBN 0091795680 - described by the Observer as "Lampooning New Labour with polemic, pastiche, parody, satire and savage social commentary." The New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
said of it: "Littlejohn's Britain doesn't exist. Literally. He spends much of the year writing from a gated mansion in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and admitted in a recent column that, when he is in Britain, he rarely leaves the house. He is describing a country he sees only through the pages of the right-wing press and his self-reinforcing mailbag."
The Will Self incident
On a June 2001 edition of Nicky CampbellNicky Campbell
Nicholas Andrew Argyll "Nicky" Campbell is a Scottish radio and television presenter and journalist. He is known for his time presenting on programmes such as the consumer affairs programme Watchdog...
's show on BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, a discussion took place between Littlejohn and Will Self
Will Self
William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
. Both were on the show to promote their novels (Littlejohn's To Hell in a Handcart
To Hell in a Handcart
To Hell in a Handcart is a controversial dystopian novel by English journalist Richard Littlejohn.After using self defence against a man who had broken into his home, ex-police officer Mickey French finds himself arrested for murder and faced with national notoriety, as several left wing figures...
and Self's How the Dead Live
How the Dead Live
How the Dead Live is a novel by Will Self. It was originally published by Bloomsbury in 2000.-Plot:The story follows Lily Bloom's encounter with the afterlife after dying from cancer...
). Campbell cited David Aaronovitch
David Aaronovitch
David Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
's description of Littlejohn's novel as a "400-page recruiting pamphlet for the British National Party". Littlejohn responded (referring to Aaronovitch): "What else do you expect from an overgrown student union leader who used to be a member of the Communist Party? I think it is a badge of honour to be attacked by people like David Aaronovitch to be perfectly honest. I might put it on the cover".
Self agreed with Aaronovitch's comments, said that he had read half of Littlejohn's book, and he described its author as "a kind of Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
for the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
". Littlejohn said that he should "read the book in its totality", to which Self retorted "Why?... Does it turn into Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
at page 205?". Littlejohn's response was: "No it doesn't turn into Tolstoy. I don't set out to be Tolstoy. It is a much more complex book than that". In the same interview, Littlejohn enquired of Self, who is a recovering addict: "You are not still on heroin are you?".
Asian hopscotch lessons
In February 2011 Littlejohn wrote in his Daily Mail column that Haringey CouncilHaringey London Borough Council
Haringey London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Haringey in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Haringey is divided into 19 wards, each electing three councillors. Haringey London Borough...
was using taxpayer funds for hopscotch
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a children's game that can be played with several players or alone. Hopscotch is a popular playground game.- Court and rules :- The court :...
lessons for Asian women. This was actually an urban myth first propagated by the former Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
chairman, Brian Mawhinney
Brian Mawhinney
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney PC is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 until 1997 and a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 2005.-Early life:...
in 1995. In fact, the Hopscotch Asian Women's Centre offered "support services for Asian women and their families on a wide range of issues including domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, benefits, housing, education, immigration and health matters [and provided] advocacy and support to people with learning disabilities."
Asylum Seeker's Benefit Claims
In 2004, Johann HariJohann Hari
Johann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at The Independent, the The Huffington Post, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of plagiarism; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008 Orwell Prize...
appeared as a guest on Littlejohn's Sky News programme and challenged his claims that an asylum seeker could claim £117 per week, stating that the true figure was £37.77. "You propagate anti-asylum seeker lies, just as surely as this man" [Nick Griffin], said Hari, referring to Griffin's support for Littlejohn. He later wrote: "I asked Richard how much a single asylum seeker is given in benefits each week. You'd think that a journalist who writes about asylum twice a week would, of course, know something so incredibly basic. His response was clear. He snapped: 'I have no idea'."
Attitude toward homosexuality
The Diary column of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper annually documents the results of a "Littlejohn audit" — a count of the number of references Littlejohn makes to homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in his columns.
Littlejohn has said he is opposed to discrimination against homosexuals. In his Daily Mail column on 10 October 2007, he said, in reference to British society in the 1970s: "Though homosexuality wasn't exactly my idea of a night out, I thought it outrageous that gays were subjected to discrimination in areas such as employment, housing and pensions."
Disabled protester
In December 2010 he mocked a 20-year-old with cerebral palsy who was thrown out of his wheelchair by the police at a protest2010 UK student protests
The 2010 UK student protests were a series of demonstrations that began in November 2010 in several areas of the United Kingdom, with the focal point of protests centred in London. The initial event was the largest student protest in the UK since the Labour government first proposed the Teaching...
. Littlejohn argued that the young man involved should not have attended the protest and compared him to Andy Pipkin from Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
. This prompted 500 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines...
.
Personal life
Littlejohn is a keen football fan and since the late 1960s has been a supporter of Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
football club. He starred in his own football video, We Woz Robbed. In 1965, he turned down a scholarship at Oundle School
Oundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
because they did not play football, and he went to grammar school instead.
He married Wendy A. Bosworth in 1974. They have two children, Georgina (b. 1975), also a journalist, and William (b. 1979).
External links
- Daily Mail column
- The new anti-Semitism: How the Left reversed history to bring Judaism under attack by Richard Littlejohn. Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
6 July 2007 - Richard Littlejohn Tackles Anti-semitism. Interview with Richard Littlejohn at TotallyJewish. 5 July 2007