Stig Abell
@StigAbell
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Co-presenting breakfast @timesradio. Death in a Lonely Place, the 2nd Jake Jackson book, out now: https://t.co/AZKBwAozNP
London, England
Joined February 2012
New year: two new books from me in 2025. The paperback of Death in a Lonely Place: Jake tackles a criminal conspiracy in the depths of winter. And the next in the series: The Burial Place. Jake and Livia, murder at an archaeological dig. Coming very soon:
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Nazi salutes while protecting a statue of Churchill takes some galactic level of stupidity.
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Putin’s main achievement in the last 48 hours is making President Zelensky a global hero. His quote to Americans offering to evacuate him “I need ammunition, not a ride”.
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My wife just went to the supermarket. They were letting ten in, ten out. Everybody queued politely and 2 metres apart. When she got in, the shelves were full. Everyone was polite. We can do this.
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A picture of the lovely dogs who helped firemen in #GrenfellTower, wearing their heat-proof boots.
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In the end, the only sport that matters; human competition at its purest and finest: it’s Japanese office chair racing.
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Nadhim Zahawi saying he has no confidence in the man who made him Chancellor 24 hours ago is the plot twist we deserve as a nation.
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Elton John wins the award for the best diary entry ever (quoted in today’s Observer). “Woke up, watched Grandstand. Wrote Candle in the Wind. Went to London, bought Rolls-Royce. Ringo Starr came for dinner”.
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I cannot get over the fact that Chadwick Boseman was diagnosed with Stage Three cancer, and then made Civil War, Marshall, Black Panther, Infinity War, Endgame, 21 Bridges and Da 5 Bloods. All the while not mentioning it in public, and inspiring all those people. Extraordinary.
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Whatever happens with the Giuffre vs Prince Andrew case today, the position is that a senior member of the royal family is seeking to use a legal loophole, a technicality, to avoid scrutiny over claims of sexual abuse. That is totally unacceptable.
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This video of a footballer nutmegging an entire squad, even when they know it is coming, is utter joy.
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I remember where I was when I watched the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth and how I sat stunned at the end. One of the best pieces of tragicomic writing ever, in any form; worth another look today of all days.
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When I attended my grandad’s funeral, I remember my wife slipping a hand in mine. Shouldn’t need saying, but it’s what normal people do. Any criticism of this is totally unfounded.
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It’s an unpopular view but I just think we might all have to accept that we shouldn’t go on a summer holiday abroad during a pandemic.
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Unvaccinated people are taking beds from other sick people, some of whom become sicker as a result. Not being vaccinated during a pandemic is an act of selfishness hiding behind the facade of individual liberty.
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He has, after all, broken everything else.
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“My director of communications has informed me that no rules have been broken”
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“I was brought down by the left-wing economic establishment”
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In a triumph for diversity, our next Prime Minister will either be someone who studied PPE at Lincoln College, Oxford, or someone who studied PPE at Merton College, Oxford.
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Matt Hancock will argue his affair is private, but it took place at his work, during the biggest crisis in decades, at a time hugging was publicly not allowed, with someone he brought to government in questioned circumstances. The public interest seems quite clear-cut here.
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Juventus and Napoli fans see each other in a narrow street. Enjoy what happens next.
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Prince Harry fought for this country in uniform. He’s entitled to wear it whether or not he’s still a working royal. Indeed it’s a thing of which the family should be openly proud.
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I have a mixed race family, and this image is beautiful, important and inspiring. So I shall park my cynicism for once.
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The slogan was “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives”. We stayed home, the NHS was not overwhelmed, and yet we are about to have more dead than any European country. The government has yet to explain properly why.
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I’m 40 today, but am partly consoled by the fact that I’d be having the same size party whether we were in lockdown or not.
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8 minutes from first call to three dead terrorists. Today once more we must - among all other things - salute the heroism of the police.
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However cynical and hard bitten you are, impossible not to feel something joyful when Coldplay plays with Michael J Fox at Glastonbury
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Masks don’t help you, they help someone you don’t know. That’s why it’s hard for some people to want to wear them.
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If these rules don’t alter how you’ve been living over the last couple of days, then you’ve been doing the last couple of days correctly.
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Eric Clapton was asked about how it felt to be the world's best guitarist. His response: "I don't know. Ask Prince".
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Theresa May spent £100 million of public money to reduce her own majority. Still, I reckon she'll do a good job negotiating Brexit.
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I have not seen a single interview with the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, in the last couple of weeks. I may have missed them, but she seems astonishingly low-profile during a time of home affairs crisis.
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You can’t dance at a wedding, but you can do this. It’s a funny old game, Covid.
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1740: Britannia rules the waves. 2020: Britannia waives the rules.
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The truly sobering statistic is that half of the 100,000 deaths have happened since November. The virus was not “unprecedented” then; we’d had the precedent of the preceding nine months.
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I think some of today’s images stand not just for the funeral of a man but for the aberrant loneliness caused by Covid for many.
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An obvious point, but: if the Nightingale Hospital remains largely empty, it means measures are working. It doesn’t mean we have over-reacted to the crisis.
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My appalled wife has suggested I tweet a picture of my dinner tonight. I may be regressing a bit: fish fingers, beans and potato waffles.
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If you vote for a deal because a person will resign afterwards, you are voting for a resignation not the deal. And that is an appalling way to make a decision that will affect the lives of millions.
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Whatever your politics or beliefs, one certainty in British life for decades has been the beneficent existence of the Queen. Most of us have never known any other reality. That is why you feel the news in your gut because she stands for something so much more than herself.
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Quite an image of a British Muslim Mayor speaking at a massive LGBT Pride event.
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Good morning to everyone but the people who put a plastic whistle on the front cover of this week’s Peppa Pig magazine.
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Few things are more British than al fresco dining in the rain next to a roundabout.
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I can’t be the only one who spends more time looking for something to watch on Netflix than watching Netflix.
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Sure, modern life is awful. But just occasionally a reporter accidentally activates a filter on his phone and doesn’t realise it.
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Oxford graduates will tell you 70% from Oxford is as good as 90% from other institutions, of course. #vaccine.
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It’s not a power cut, we’re just trying to turn the country off and on again.
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George HW Bush to Bill Clinton. A fine letter to be remembered by.
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Remember: if you’ve said “well the garden needed the rain” today you are officially middle-aged.
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I love this quote from Prince Philip, who had a clear sense of the sometimes ridiculousness of his position. “A lot of time and energy has been spent on arranging for you to listen to me to take a long time to declare open a building which everyone knows is open already”.
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The concession speech by John McCain is even more moving today perhaps than it was all those years ago. So brilliantly paced and sincere. So different from the ramblings of the current incumbent.
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My wife and I now have a quarantine habit of getting up half an hour before the children so we can sit quietly and stare out of the window together, and it is one of the highlights of my day.
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Tim Spector, epidemiologist and head of ZOE app, tells @TimesRadio that Covid levels are currently 200,000 a day, and going up in some areas. It is “irresponsible” of the PM to announce the end of all restrictions with no context.
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A little bit of personal news: my beautiful wife today gave birth to a beautiful daughter: Phoebe Dora Abell. Am just filled with joy.
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Looking forward to Newcastle vs Chelsea tomorrow. A club bankrolled by those connected to a regime responsible for illegal wars and terrorism. And Chelsea. It’s Morally Bankrupt Super Sunday!.
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In his post-match press conference, Nick Kyrgios recognises a reporter from the pub. Warms the heart.
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My thoughts really go out to students, maybe away from home for the first time, now worried about infection, making friends, working out who they are, not being able to go home for months. When I was 18, I think I would have struggled a bit.
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We are now two years into the pandemic and children are being told to wear masks all day in school. I still have no idea why the government - in say month three or four - did not institute a programme of mass ventilation in all schools. They still haven’t done that now.
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@piersmorgan I wear one for my 13-week-old baby; and I am a big, hairy male. You seem nervous about masculinity for some unknown reason.
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Lucy Letby refusing to come into court to hear all the verdicts. She should be compelled to sit in front of everybody in that court now and during the sentencing. She should not be allowed to skulk away from the enormity of her appalling actions. Drag her into court if needed.
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A month ago, there was a spike in cases in India and evidence of a variant arising in that country. At that point, we should have stopped all unquarantined access from India. We were already doing that with countless other countries. The failure of decision-making is baffling.
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Liz Truss has the exact opposite of Imposter Syndrome. It is uncanny.
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“I’ve got an idea: we could do a thing about the size of Kate’s fingers being all the same size”. “They aren’t, though”. “Prove it”. “I’ve done a box round them and they don’t touch the same line”. “We shall publish anyway”.
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Solidarity with everyone who has never watched any Game of Thrones.
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The subtext of this press conference is that we feel there is a need for more restrictions but we are willing neither politically nor economically to pay for them. The end.
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After I appeared on Sky News last night, a man started posting about how he knew where I lived and - in detail - how he wanted to rape my wife. Twitter says it is not a breach of its rules. It is a fucking disgrace.
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The first rule of crisis PR is if you haven’t got anything to say, don’t say anything. The second rule is if you think you’ve got something to say, don’t say anything. The third rule is do not put a moron in a one-hour interview with an intelligent person. #PrinceAndrew.
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I would like publicly to thank all the people selflessly doing Wordle and not telling anyone about it. Never change.
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The letter is pronounced “aitch”, there is no alternative, and this is a hill I will die on.
🚨 NEW: HMRC has said its name can be pronounced with either an ‘aitch’ or a ‘haitch’ because it respects ‘diversity’ and different accents. [@Telegraph].
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My three children have now spent 24 hours a day together for 6 weeks. I may be a sentimentalist but I honestly think they will be better friends for the rest of their lives as a result. It is a heart-warming thought amid the misery.
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Google didn’t go down, it just temporarily offered an Australia-style service.
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Gorillas posing for a selfie with anti-poaching rangers is what you need today.
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A lockdown exists to give time to come up with a solution; it is not a solution. We have to live with coronavirus, accept that there will be some tragic casualties and minimise them as much as we can. We cannot just look at rising numbers and shut the country down.
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Finsbury Park terror suspect Darren Osborne, according to someone who knew him.
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Boris Johnson says he only wears masks in indoor settings with people he doesn’t know. Apart from hospitals obviously. No need for a mask there.
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In English terms, this is one stage before anarchy, rioting and cannibalism.
Due to the abnormally warm temperatures, MCC has decided to dispense with requirement for gentlemen to wear jackets in the Pavilion and arrive wearing one. This applies to Members of MCC and Middlesex and their guests.
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