Charles Moore, Baron Moore Of Etchingham

Charles Hilary Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham (born 31 October 1956) is an English journalist and a former editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Spectator'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph''; he still writes for all three. He is known for his authorised biographyCharles Moor
"Radical, egotistical, romantic, innocent – the real Margaret Thatcher"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 April 2013 of Margaret Thatcher, published in three volumes (2013, 2016 and 2019). Under the government of Boris Johnson, in July 2020 Moore was given a peerage and made a member of the House of Lords.

Early life

Moore was born in Hastings, East Sussex. He is from a Liberal family. His mother Ann (nee Miles) was a county councillor for the Liberal Party in Sussex and his father Richard was a leader writer on the ''News Chronicle'', who unsuccessfully stood for the party at several general elections.

While at Eton in 1974 Moore wrote about his membership of the Liberals in the ''Eton Chronicle'' and also about his taste for real ale. During this period he was already a friend of Oliver Letwin. Moore remained a Liberal into his early twenties.

Moore went to Trinity College, Cambridge, at the same time as Letwin. At Eton he had also known Nicholas Coleridge, who was also at Trinity.Mark Brow
"Lady Thatcher's authorised biography sparks excitement and scepticism"
''The Guardian'', 19 April 2013 He read English (2.1) and History (2.1) and graduated BA in 1979. By now an advocate of architectural conservation, he became an admirer of the work in this field of Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman.Keith Mille
"Charles Moore: profile"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 15 June 2011

Early career

In 1979 he joined ''The Daily Telegraph'' as a political correspondent, and, after a short period on the 'Peterborough' gossip column, was writing leaders within two years, by the age of 24. In 1982 Moore wrote a pamphlet for the Salisbury Group, titled ''The Old People of Lambeth'' (1982). In the aftermath of the 1981 Brixton riot, (which Moore blamed on "poorly planned mass immigration"), Moore interviewed elderly white residents of Lambeth on their experience of crime, the police, immigration and politics.Vron Ware, ''Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism, and History'' (Verso, 2015), p. 5 Moore wrote: "The native population of Lambeth feels little natural sympathy with the West Indian arrivals. Without having any arrogant or dogmatic theory of racial superiority, the old people of Lambeth can see with their own eyes that they are surrounded by people more primitive than they, who lack their respect for law and privacy". In the final paragraph, Moore wrote of the old people's loyalty to the Royal Family, their memories of the two world wars, their work ethic and their readiness to obey the law: "As one old man said simply, 'It's our country and our Queen. Why should we be afraid to go out?'"

In 1992 in an article questioning the success of the welfare policies intended to combat historical social problems, Moore supportively claimed there was a perception in America that some groups might be more able than others, which he then went on to support: "The Korean sets up the grocery store which the black then robs, that is the caricature that America recognises", and that there was a prejudice often voiced in conversation but hardly ever put into print "that there really is something different about blacks, or at least about young black men" and "If it is true, as it surely is that some races – the Jews are the obvious example – are highly enterprising and talented, it may also be true that some are the opposite."

In September 2003 Moore launched a new column, Beebwatch, that he claimed will "delve into the unconscious bias" of the corporation. "The BBC's mental assumptions are those of the fairly soft left, that American power is a bad thing, whereas the UN is good, that the Palestinians are in the right and Israel isn't, that the war in Iraq was wrong, that the European Union is a good thing and that people who criticise it are xenophobic," Moore said.

As editor

''The Spectator''

Two years after joining ''The Spectator'' as a political columnist, Moore became the magazine's editor in 1984, remaining there until 1990.

Moore employed a young journalist Boris Johnson at ''The Spectator,'' who went onto succeed Moore as Editor of the Spectator and then became Mayor of London, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Moore co-edited ''A Tory Seer: The Selected Journalism of T. E. Utley'', which was published in 1989.

Editor of the ''Sunday Telegraph''

Following ''The Spectator'', he edited ''The Sunday Telegraph'' from 1992 to 1995. Near the start of this period, around the time of the publication of the Andrew Morton book ''Diana: Her True Story'', he appeared on ''Newsnight'' to discuss the marital difficulties of the Prince and Princess of Wales. To the astonishment of the presenter, Jeremy Paxman, Moore said that because he wished to protect the monarchy: "I believe in the importance of concealment in these matters and, if you like, hypocrisy."

Editor of the ''Daily Telegraph''

Moore became editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 1995. In 2001, his signed editorial "A Free Country"Charles Moor
"A free country"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 16 July 2001 gained some notice elsewhere in the media.Euan Ferguso
"Charles Moore, the reluctant revolutionary"
''The Observer'', 8 July 2001 In this article, he argued in favour of hunting, pornography, the right to employ whom we choose, the right to trial by jury and advocated the legalisation of cannabis. He blamed a decline in "freedom" on the controls imposed during the Second World War and on Margaret Thatcher: "If you've been in office for a long time you always start to believe in having more power, and she undoubtedly got that disease."

False allegations against George Galloway

Owing to falling circulation, there had been speculation by 2003 about Moore's future prior to his resignation in the autumn of that year.Janine Gibso
"Toodle-pip"
''The Guardian'', 2 October 2003 Moore had been editor when stories about George Galloway, which led to a successful libel action from the politician, were published. The newspaper had falsely written that Galloway received payments from Saddam Hussein's regime.

Later career

Since leaving the editorship of the ''Daily Telegraph'' in 2003, to spend more time writing Thatcher's authorised biography, Moore has penned regular columns at ''The Spectator'' and at the ''Daily Telegraph''.

Chairman of Policy Exchange (?-2011)

Moore was for a number of years chairman of Policy Exchange, a London-based think-tank, before he stepped down in June 2011. In December 2007 he entered the debate over ''The Hijacking of British Islam'', a Policy Exchange report which the BBC
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