And that's how two characters should dance together in life?Yes, and it's all explained here in this (almost finished*) version of The World According to Boring John (PDF version) - you'll need a password!**Enjoy! I know I didn't.* This book may never get finished - He may not be up to it!** And the password is... - contact me (or Him) for...

This is the key section from my new book which the publisher is unwilling to publish due to legal threats from Schillings libel lawyers, acting on behalf of the mercenary commander Tim Spicer: " Peter Penfold was back in the UK. He was interviewed separately. Both Penfold and Spicer were interviewed under caution, as suspects for having broken the arms embargo. Then, suddenly, Tony Blair intervened. On 11 May 1998, without consulting the FCO, he gave a statement to journalists. Penfold, Blair declared, was “a hero”. A dictatorship had been successfully overthrown and democracy restored. Penfold had “Done a superb job in trying to deal with the consequences of the military coup.” All this stuff about Security Council Resolutions and sanctions was “an overblown...

Apparently I have done something very clever in my respose to Weill and Buckingham. What’s most interesting is that in response Murray has written a search-engine optimized blog post. Read his last paragraph, beginning “It would be a great pity….” It’s been lexically massaged until it’s like something off about.com, which is a sure sign that it’s aimed at the search engines as much as at human beings. http://www.biggrandejatte.co.uk/smallbeds/ I have to admit that was totally accidental. Tim Ireland advises me on that stuff sometimes, and I try to nod and look intelligent, but I have no idea what he is saying most of the time. However if it worked by chance I am very...

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This is Mr David Weill, a corporate adviser and former derivatives trader. He is also a barrister at the Middle Temple. If he really thinks I have perpetrated a libel, therefore, he ought to have no difficulty in undertaking legal action, rather than blustering on about it and trying to frighten me. I am not frightfully well acquainted with the ethics of the legal profession, but I am surprised that barristers can write to people threatening them with legal action, and describing them as "a sack of crap". Is it OK for Mr David De Jongh Weill to call me that in a communication related to proposed legal action? Can I complain to someone who regulates barristers? Any ideas? Mr David De Jongh Weill was a man ahead of his time in making massive losses from derivatives trading,...

Yes again, another libel action threat on behalf of a very rich man who made cash from mercenary activity. The following comment was posted on this blog from a "Friend" of Tony Buckingham. I believe that you are simply dragging up these old allegations to create interest and controversy to sell books - which is of course your business. You should be aware however of the nature of the tort of defamation, specifically libel. Your lawyers can help you with this if you can't get your head around it. You have made derogatory comments in print that have been published about a good friend of mine, Tony Buckingham, that would by their very nature bring Tony into a negative light by any reasonable member of the public. Your comments are wholly false. Tony is the CEO of a FTSE 250 company, a...

While my last posting discussed the massive pumping out of lies by the government to promote the "War on Terror", to publish the truth in the UK is almost impossible. As previously detailed. my second book, The Catholic Orangemen of Togo, has been subject to legal delay because of injunction by Schillings, libel lawyers acting for the mercenary Colonel Tim Spicer, and because of attempted censorship by the FCO. http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2008/07/iraq_mercenary.html I am trying to write a memoir giving a first hand account of what I did and what I personally witnessed. It has the same honesty and shows my own warts as Murder in Samarkand did. I aslo give some opinions based on my experience. That may sound straightforward, but under this country's crazy libel laws you...

Harry's Place is the natural home for ex-socialists who joined the neo-con assault on the developing world, and then sought to justify themselves by extreme vituperation against anyone who exhibited a greater degree of political consistency. But these rather sad people need a home, and it is quite wrong for the site to be taken down. I am genuinely flummoxed as to why people who disagree with something don't simply argue back, expecially on blogs which have undermined the need for access to a printing press. The fact that I am really nice and the denizens of Harry's Place really horrible does not in the least make the attack on Harry's Place any more justified than Alisher Usmanov's or Tim Spicer's attacks on me. Support freedom of speech and an open web! Bring back horrible......

Who isn't? I hear you ask. Anyway, it's in the Financial Times, so it must be true: Gordon Brown enjoyed a respectful audience, but two days later Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, elicited passionate support. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1ef4e9e4-6fde-11dd-986f-0000779fd18c.html My appearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival was sold out again this year - 570 rather expensive tickets - rather to the bemusement of the organisers, who every year scratch their heads wondering who is this rude interrupter of their genteel event, and why so many people want to see him. I enjoyed taking the opportunity to point out that some of their headline speakers are war criminals: The one-time diplomat, who was sacked after speaking out about human rights abuses, used his appearance...

I have been very busy the last few days giving interviews about Georgia - largely because there seem to be few others who are against missile systems and NATO policy, without being Putin apologists. Anyway, there is a rather lame but surprisingly extended attack on me in the Sunday Times over my comments on the Fringe. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4547834.ece This is a particularly poor piece of journalism as the newspaper failed to contact me for comment. There are also a number of extraordinary omissions or distortions. To clarify:- - I have never accused the Fringe of failing to promote Nadira's show. They got the Fringe office to comment on something I haven't said. I did point out they had listed it in the wrong category. If the Sunday Times had...

I have been having a great time here with Nadira in Edinburgh. Audiences for the show have been extremely appreciative, though being on at 1.30pm they have not been huge, averaging around 50. A couple of things have rather spoilt my mood today. I gave an interview to Radio Scotland for a morning talk show called Shereen. It is at the end of this feed (the link only works for one week). http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00cy4m1 As the last word an alleged journalist named Penny Taylor accuses me of exploiting Nadira, which is pretty nasty. I am not sure in what sense she meant - I am subsidising rather than benefiting from Nadira's show. If she meant in our relationship, well Nadira is 26 now and well capable of making up her own mind. But what is especially annoying is that...

Do you see how long it's been since I got to speak on this blog? Bloody April 17th (when He still had a girlfriend ha ha!). But His other blog - How to write a novel - oh, that's being updated all the time lah-de-bloody-dah! (Who wants to learn how to write a novel by a bloody No-mark who's never gonna get a book published in a million years? And this despite my best efforts. No bugger, that's who.)Anyhoo, I'm only actually here because of His stoopid book.It seems that he's not come up with a brief synopsis of The World According to Boring John and I'm meant to talk about it right here. Say how crap it is, I guess. Well, you know what, I can't be bothered. I'm just going to list it for you, and your delectation, and provide you with the links to his (more beloved) other blog and then go...

In general I do not believe in visiting the sins of the fathers on the children, but I must admit that I would be much more comfortable if Oswald Mosley's son wasn't doing quite so well as to be the multi-millionaire head of world motor racing, with his own string of prostitutes. Particularly as he actively supported his father's fascist campaigns once he was old enough to know better. I was slightly surprised to find that Oswald Mosley was still campaigning in London in the 1960s. What a tolerant people we are. Certainly if either of my grandfathers had seen him, they would have beaten the hell out of him. If Max Mosley had finished his days as a retired solicitor in Hendon, I would not have begrudged him mild prosperity just because of his dad. But titular head of Formula 1?...

Nadira takes her Arcola sell-out show, the British Ambassador's Belly Dancer, to the Edinburgh Fringe, where it is playing at the Gilded Balloon from 30 July to 24 August at the somewhat unusual time of 1.30pm. I do hope you will go to support her if you are around Edinburgh for the Festival. http://www.edfringe.com/shows/detail.php?action=shows&id;=446 Nadira has her own micro-website on Bloggerheads: http://www.bloggerheads.com/nadira/index.html There are still tickets available for my appearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival on 12 August: http://tickets.edbookfest.co.uk/show.asp I shall be talking about my new book, The Catholic Orangemen of Togo, and revealing some of the information which apparently Tim Spicer and Schillings are attempting to block. We shall both be available...

From the Pat Finucane Centre. I wonder if Schillings will be getting to work over this? "...As you know, the CEO of Aegis Defense Services Tim Spicer has been implicated in a variety of human rights abuses around the globe. Given his history, I agree that the United States should consider rescinding its contract with his company." Barack Obama...

Well it seems the book is almost ready to be unleashed onto an unsuspecting publishing world. A publisher has been selected; the book synopsis has been written; and many, many words have been rejected in the process.Apparently, summarising a book like The World According to Boring John has not been easy! Tch, what a lamo He is! LolAnyway, I thought I'd include some of those rejected words here, give you a taste if you like of what the book is all about. And I'm happy with the words, because they're my words - natch!Here goes...Book Cover BlurbEver wondered what the voice inside your head would sound like, as a character, in a novel, that starred you as the writer? No, neither have I - so that makes at least two of us then...Dear Prospective Reader, I have been given a few paragraphs to...

Rather strangely, 10 of 21 customer reviews of "Murder in Samarkand" have been removed from amazon.co.uk, including most of the longest and more interesting ones. They have not disappeared in chronological order. In fact the one thing the ten had in common is that they were all five star. The overall rating has therefore unsurprisingly dropped. Anyone have an...

I confess to being chuffed that the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, has named Murder in Samarkand as her Book of the Year. http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/4334781a6442.html Meantime, Nadira's performance of The British Ambassador's Belly Dancer has its thirteenth performance at the Arcola tonight. Like all the previous twelve, it is sold out. The audiences' responses have been enthusiastic, while the critics ranged from bemused to hostile. So who has got it right? The paying public or the critics? We may get more of a chance to decide when it transfers to the West End, at the Arts Theatre from 4 February. (Box Office 0870 060 1742 or...

The NYT does not seem very impressed by Dirty Diplomacy: By TARA McKELVEY Published: December 9, 2007 A diplomatic posting to Tashkent may not sound glamorous, but it has been an important assignment in recent years. Craig Murray, who served as British ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004, explains in “Dirty Diplomacy” how the country has played a crucial role in the war on terror. Thousands of American troops have been stationed at the Karshi Khanabad air base, known as K2, and in 2002 American officials approved $140 million in aid for Uzbekistan. Murray found himself caught between geopolitical considerations — the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and the United States and Britain — and his concern for the people living under a despotic leader. In his memoir, he...

Never Were Truer Words Spoken: Anyway, buy the book. If for no other reason than Murray deserves some form of income after the way he has been fucked over by his employer, the British government. http://szekely.blogspot.com/2007/12/murder-in-samarkand.html That quote is from a very good review by somebody re-reading the book after having visited Uzbekistan. I especially like the bit where he commends me for not pretending to be likeable! I have been saying in interviews that I dislike autobiographies which always appear to be written by people who are perfect themselves but quick to point out the faults in others. Our friend in Csikszereda has found a pithier way to say the same thing. He is right about my needing the money, too. Christmas is upon us, and you might like to think of...

Certainly one of the most interesting and thoughtful critiques of Murder in Samarkand has been posted by Harry Barnes on his blog. For those who don't know, Harry is a recently retired, long-serving Labour MP. He represents strongly the origins of that party as an organisation dedicated to improving the lot of working people, both in the UK and worldwide. His perspective casts new light across several aspects of the book, including this extract: In particular, I found Craig's description of Claire Short's visit to Tashkent when she went to Chair a conference of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development to be highly revealing. Claire did a fine job in standing up for human rights against the Uzbek regime. As soon as she returned home she resigned her post as Secretary of...

I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed by the failure of Dirty Diplomacy so far to garner any major reviews in the United States. But it continues to be appreciated in small niches, like the St Paul's American Asian Gazette : The book often reads like a travelogue as Murray tells about his compelling travels through the country, and he also publishes previously secret memos and letters add meaning to his stories. It is an appeal to the global community to enter the hot debate over what policies and actions are acceptable in the name of security. Despite the occasionally distracting portrayal of himself as a Lone Ranger defying the evil regime and exposing the wrongs perpetuated by the complicity of others, his tale is powerful and adds a meaningful voice to the growing global...

Occasionally you read a review from someone who really "gets" what I am trying to do, and it gives you a lovely warm feeling inside. For me, that feeling is redoubled when that person is writing from somewhere I have never heard of. So here is a review from the Kingston Observer (that's Kingston USA, not Jamaica). No. I don't know where it is either. But I'm definitely going to go there one day now. Before the torture scandals of Abu Ghraib became public, there was the matter of the prisoner who was boiled to death in Uzbekistan. Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to that country, learned of this tragedy and exposed it, urging the British government to distance itself from U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. propped up the repressive Uzbek regime with half a billion dollars yearly...

Publisher's blurb for new book - In this prequel to Murder in Samarkand Craig Murray asserts that once the red soil of Africa gets into your blood, you are in thrall to the continent for the rest of your life. Returning in 1998 from heading the Political and Economic sections of the British Embassy in Warsaw, Craig becomes Deputy Head of the Africa Department of the FCO. Within two weeks of taking up the job suave, controversial, Old Etonian mercenary commander Colonel Tim Spicer walks into Craig Murray's office. Murray does not like what he finds and reports Spicer to Customs and Excise - and creates the Arms to Africa Investigation that is the first big crisis of Tony Blair's government. Suspended from duty, grilled by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, then quickly...

The US edition of Murder in Samarkand has finally hit the shops, under the title of Dirty Diplomacy. Be warned that it is basically the same book, and I do not recommend you to buy both. Dirty Diplomacy is however a different cut from an original manuscript. So while slightly shorter than Murder in Samarkand, it includes some passages which were not in the UK version, and is less heavily censored because of the protections for freedom of speech in the US. Here is a pre-publication review from Booklist, a library and bookseller trade magazine: Dirty Diplomacy. Murray, Craig (Author) Oct 2007. 368 p. Scribner, hardcover, $26.00. (1416548017). 958.70. Must diplomacy involve duplicity? Murray, an energetic and forthright British diplomat, moved his family to Tashkent in 2002 with high...

Unfortunately my talk at the Edinburgh Book Festival sold out weeks ago, but I shall be appearing at the Forum Theatre in Malvern on 3 October at 7pm, in support of Amnesty International. You can buy tickets online here http://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/ Or call the Box Office on 01684 892277 Hope to see you......

I commented on the BBC's first class production of Robin Soans' excellent and thought provoking play, Life After Scandal. http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2007/08/life_after_scan.html#comments I didn't like the portrayal of my character; not in the script, which used my own words, but in the acting. What follows is a further comment I added, but I thought should be brought up to the top of the blog. I heard it again this morning because Nadira was listening for the first time. I am now a bit more annoyed by the silly voice - like Charles Hawtrey with a lisp. The words were genuinely my own, and devalued by the petulant and childish voice in which they were delivered. I think partly what annoyed me was that I do indeed have a congenital speech defect, and there is always a...

On BBC Radio 4 at 9pm tomorrow Friday 3 August, the BBC is broadcasting a production of Robin Soans' Life After Scandal. I feature as a character in this piece of verbatim theatre, much as I did in Soans' excellent Talking to Terrorists, though presumably this new play focuses somewhat on what Nadira and I did since. For those not in the UK, or in reach of a radio, I believe you should be able to listen on BBC Radio 4 live on the...

My appearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival sold out pretty well immediately. That is good in some ways, but a shame for all those still trying to buy a ticket. I am contacting the Festival to see if we can't switch to a larger venue, or repeat...

I received this email today. It is a bit disjointed below because I have removed any detail that might help the Uzbek government identify the sender. It really cheered me up on a morning when I needed it badly! Dear Craig, I was going to buy your book “Murder in Samarkand” on the way home in Books etc a week ago as I heard a lot about it lately but unfortunately they did not have any in their store. Today I asked my friend to find it for me and luckily he found it in Waterstones. When I came home the book was waiting for me. I started reading the book and suddenly after about 30-35 pages I noticed my friend staring at me with a really surprised expression on his face……..I was crying, I had proper tears in my eyes. I was amazed that your book is so well written that it made me...