Michael Toner (born 1944) is a British journalist. He was

political editor The political editor of a newspaper or broadcaster is the senior political reporter who covers politics and related matters for the newspaper or station. They may have a large team of political correspondents working under them. In publishing, beca ...

, diplomatic correspondent and

leader writer A leader writer is a senior journalist in a British newspaper who is charged with writing the paper's editorial either in the absence of the editor or in cases where the editor chooses not to write editorials because their editorial skills may res ...

at the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', chief

on the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' until 2006, a political author and novelist.School of the Black & Red, A History of

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

, A.G. Underwood (1981)

Life and career

Toner was born in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

in 1944 and educated at

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He began his career in journalism at the ''

Stoke Sentinel ''The Sentinel'' is a daily regional newspaper circulating in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire areas of England. It is owned by Reach plc and based at Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It is the only newspaper delivering daily news and featur ...

'' before moving to the ''

'' where, in 1981, he interviewed

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

with fellow ''

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

'' journalist Keith Renshaw. He became leader writer of the ''

'' where he covered many of the controversial topics of the 1980s and 1990s including articles about the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

, ''Britain Fumes at US Over I.R.A. Guns'', the

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...

, the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, child abuse and the war crime allegations involving

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for th ...

David Alton David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, (born 15 March 1951) is a British politician. He is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who has sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 1997 ...

described Toner's approach to Alton's anti-abortion bill as "thorough and fair". Following his period at the ''

'', Toner became Chief Leader Writer at the ''

'', a position he held until 2006 when

Tom Utley Thomas Dermot Utley (born 29 November 1952) is a British journalist who writes for the '' Daily Mail''. Life and career Utley is the son of the journalist T. E. ('Peter') Utley and Brigid Viola Mary (1927–2012), daughter of Dermot Morrah, a j ...

succeeded him to the role. Toner's first published work, '' The Bluffer's Guide To The EU'', has run to several editions encapsulating the changing nomenclature of that institution. He published his first novel, ''Seeing the Light'', in 1997.

Works

* ''Seeing the Light''. Published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, London, 1997 * '' The Bluffer's Guide To The EU''. Michael Toner with Christopher White and Lee Rotherham. Published by Oval, London, 1999 * ''Bluff Your Way in the City''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toner, Michael 1944 births Living people British journalists 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists People educated at Bedford Modern School