Leo McKinstry

British journalist and writer

Leo McKinstry (born 1962) is a British journalist, historian and author.

Life and career

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McKinstry was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in history in 1985, and identified himself as a Trotskyite.^[1]^[2] He writes regularly for several newspapers in the United Kingdom, including the Daily Mail,^[3] Daily Express,^[4] and The Sunday Telegraph.^[5] He often writes about issues relating to immigration and the European Union, being a strong supporter of Brexit. His books include a biography of the Victorian Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery.

In the early 1990s, McKinstry was a Labour councillor in Islington and worked as a parliamentary aide to Labour politician Harriet Harman. Losing his seat on Islington council in 1994, he was working for Labour frontbencher Doug Henderson when he announced the following year, via an article in The Spectator, that he no longer supported the party.^[6] Subsequently, he was a regular columnist in both the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.

McKinstry is married and lives in Kent and Provence.^[7]

Awards and honours

2003 British Sports Book Awards (Best Biography), Jack & Bobby^[8]
2007 British Sports Book Awards (Best Football Book), Sir Alf^[8]

Bibliography

Fit to Govern: A Former Labour Activist Asks: Can Tony Blair's Party be Trusted to Run Britain? (1996), Bantam Press, ISBN 0593039807
Boycs: The True Story (2000), Partridge Press, ISBN 1852252790
Jack and Bobby: A story of brothers in conflict (2002), HarperCollins UK, ISBN 0007118767
Rosebery: Statesman in Turmoil (2005), John Murray Publishers, ISBN 0719558794
Sir Alf: A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest Football Manager (2006), HarperCollins UK, ISBN 0007193785
Spitfire: Portrait of a Legend (2007), Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0719568757
Lancaster: The Second World War's Greatest Bomber (2009), Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0719523532
Hurricane: Victor of the Battle of Britain (2010), Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 1848543395
Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer (2011), Yellow Jersey Press, ISBN 0224083295
Operation Sea Lion: How Britain Crushed the German War Machine's Dreams of Invasion in 1940 (2015), Harry N. Abrams, ISBN 9781468312560
Attlee and Churchill: Allies in War, Adversaries in Peace (2020), Atlantic Books, ISBN 1848876610
Cinderella Boys: The Forgotten RAF Force that Won the Battle of the Atlantic (2023), John Murray, ISBN 1529319366

References

^ "Saving the plane that won Battle of Britain". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
^ "Leo McKinstry Biography". Harper Collins Publishers. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
^ "Middle of the road protest | Columnists". www.theguardian.com.
^ "Is PM 'in retreat' or preparing a 'cunning plan'?". BBC News. 9 September 2019.
^ "In defence of the white working class". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
^ "Vilified Labour defector vents his spleen in print – 17 years on – Leo McKinstry reveals all to Spectator magazine". Islington Tribune. 3 February 2012.
^ "Leo McKinstry". Amheath.com. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Previous winners". British Sports Book Awards. Retrieved 29 March 2020.