Henry Porter

Henry Porter, Christopher Andrew, Boris Akunin & Sergei Kostin debate spy truth & fiction

Thursday April 14th 2011, 7pm - 8.30pm, The Courtauld Institute

Join the New Statesman and Academia Rossica to see some of UK and Russia's greatest contemporary writers explore the genre of espionage fiction. Spy Wars: The Fiction behind the Truth will explore how espionage fiction grew both in Russia and the West during the Cold War, how it has developed since and how much fiction has influenced the reality of espionage and vice versa. On the panel is Henry Porter, writer, civil liberties campaigner and spy novelist; Christopher Andrew, author of the authorised history of MI5 as well as of the controversial Mitrokhin Archive; Boris Akunin, Russian detective and spy novelist and Sergei Kostin who has written both fiction and non-fiction about espionage. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall will chair the discussion and take questions from the floor.

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The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2010 finalists

The Crime Writers' Association have announced the finalists for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. The four finalists are: The Dying Light by Henry Porter (Orion), A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton), Innocent by Scott Turow (Mantle) and The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (Heinemann). The winner will be announced at The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010, which will take place on the evening of Friday 8th October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. The Awards will be screened on ITV3 on Tuesday, October 12th.

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Exposed: A Symposium: Voyeurism, privacy, censorship & surveillance

Wednesday 22 September 2010, Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1

A symposium to accompany Tate Modern's Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera, chaired by Charles Haddon-Cave QC with speakers Lord Hoffmann, Alison Jackson, Max Mosley & Henry Porter. Much of Exposed (28 May – 3 Oct 2010) focuses on surveillance and images produced using automatic technology such as CCTV. The issues raised are particularly relevant in the current climate, with topical debates raging around the rights and desires of individuals, terrorism and the increasing availability and use of surveillance. Exposed confronts these issues and their implications head-on.

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Boiling Frogs & Post-Show Discussions: Picnics, Protests and the Coalition

Tuesday 21st September, Southwark Playhouse, Shipwright Yard, London SE1

Inspired by the picnic protests held in Parliament Square between 2005 and 2007, Boiling Frogs (Sept 14th - Oct 2nd 2010) pits a small group of imaginative citizens against the system as, armed only with fancy dress, blank banners and a keen eye for semantics, they attempt to re-claim freedom of speech for all. Written by Steven Bloomer and directed by Alex Hassell, Boiling Frogs is the first full length new play to be developed, workshopped and produced by The Factory. Supporting the play will be a series of post-show discussions probing the issues raised by Boiling Frogs. Picnics, Protests and the Coalition, with guests Henry Porter and Mark Barrett, discusses the way civil liberties changed during New Labour and what the new coalition government is doing about it.

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Manifesto Club 28 April Clubnight: What would you put in a Freedom Manifesto?

Wednesday 28 April, 7.30pm; Function room @ The Slug and Lettuce, 5 Lisle Street, Leicester Square, WC2

We have invited activists from different points on the political spectrum to discuss the challenges for freedom today – and to suggest what they would put in their Freedom Manifesto. Do we need a new freedom alliance? Speakers: Guy Herbert (No2ID), Henry Porter (Observer columnist and civil liberties campaigner), James Panton (Manifesto Club), Alex Deane (Big Brother Watch), Rowenna Davis (features writer, The Guardian). Cost: Free for Manifesto Club members; £5 non-members.

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Chipping Campden Literature festival 2010

Saturday 8th May 2010, 6.30 –7.30pm, Upper Room, The Town Hall, The Campden Fringe

Henry Porter talks about his latest thriller The Dying Light, highlighting the threat of surveillance to civil liberties. Organised by The Quaker Meeting House Broad Campden. Proceeds to Asylum Welcome Oxford. Tickets £8 ; Concessions: Under 21 Free, unwaged half price. For tickets and more information telephone 01386 849 199

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Hostile Reconnaissance

13th April 2010, 7pm, Friends Meeting House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1

The London Photographers’ Branch is proud to announce a pre-election rally on Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom at 7pm on the 13th of April at Friends Meeting House in Euston. The rally will be chaired by award winning photographer Jess Hurd and speakers include Jeremy Dear, General Secretary National Union of Journalists, Paul Lewis, Guardian journalist & British Press Awards Reporter of the Year 2010, Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law at King’s College London & author of Bonfire of the Liberties and Henry Porter, Observer columnist, author & British editor of Vanity Fair.

Fatima Bhutto - Songs of Blood and Sword - In conversation with Henry Porter

Monday 12 April 2010, 7pm, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1

Fatima Bhutto, fearless niece of Benazir, is an outspoken critic of Pakistan's current regime. In Songs of Blood and Sword, she tells the story of the Bhutto family as it mirrors the tumultuous history of Pakistan itself, and of the quest to find the truth behind her father's murder that has led her to the heart of her country's volatile political establishment. During this event Bhutto will be discussing her important and revealing book and talks about future of Pakistan with Henry Porter.

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Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters Discriminated Against?

Thursday March 4th 2010, 7pm, The Vibe Bar, Brick Lane, London E1

Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters Discriminated Against? is the FSF’s free Question Time-style debate, chaired by Tony Evans (Football Editor at The Times) with panellists Henry Porter, Duleep Allirajah (Sports Columnist for Spiked), David Bohannan (Head of the Home Office Football Unit), Tony Conniford (Assistant Director of the UK Football Policing Unit) and James Welch (solicitor and Legal Director of Liberty). This free event is open to all. Every person who registers in advance also gets a free drink. To register, simply email your name to : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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An Unwarranted Intrusion?

23 February 2010, 6.15 for 6.30pm, 55 Tufton Street, SW1, Centre for Policy Studies

New research from Big Brother Watch (pdf) has revealed that there are nearly 15,000 officers in local councils nationwide who can enter private property without requiring a warrant or police officer escort. The report builds on the 2006 Centre for Policy Studies pamphlet Crossing the Threshold by Harry Snook (pdf), which detailed the number of ways the State can enter a private home as of right - there were 266 distinct powers of entry then, and 1,043 now. Our panel of speakers will discuss the implications of this for civil liberties and whether action is needed to rebalance power in the relationship between the state and the citizen. Chaired by Jill Kirby, with speakers Dominic Grieve QC MP, Henry Porter, Harry Snook and Alex Deane .

What Price Liberty?

Saturday 23rd January 2010, 10am - 4.30pm, Truro College, Cornwall

A day to discuss our freedom, privacy & rights. Chaired by Kate Adie (broadcaster and author) with speakers Henry Porter, Frederick Taylor (best selling historian of WW2), Katherine Whitehorn (columnist and broadcaster), Oliver Baines (environmental campaigner), Stephen Otter (Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall) and Ursula Owen (campaigner for free speech).

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Civil liberties: are we placing ourselves at the mercy of the state?

Tuesday December 8, 6.30pm - 8pm, Hansard Society, Portcullis House

This Democracy Forum will look at whether what can be viewed as our traditional British ‘apathy’ is allowing the state to pass legislation that scrutinises and controls us. Or, is such a dystopian view a wildly exaggerated response to what is merely the use of modern tools to tackle 21st century crime and terrorism? The speakers are: Henry Porter, Peter Oborne and Sir Ian Blair. Chaired by Fiona Booth, Chief Executive, Hansard Society.

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