Michael Peel – författare

Until recently, almost all of the medical input to criminal and civil prosecutions relating to allegations of torture was from forensic pathologists investigating mass graves. It is now recognised, however, that witness evidence from those who survive atrocities can be supported by medical experts in documenting torture both immediately and many years after the event. As is patently evident from news coverage, the number of asylum seekers in the West fleeing persecution abroad has increased steadily and there is a real need to provide those involved in examining these individuals with a comprehensive reference source which will underpin the Istanbul Protocol and provide the academic background for bringing prosecutions against alleged torturers before the newly mandated International Criminal Court.

Until recently, almost all of the medical input to criminal and civil prosecutions relating to allegations of torture was from forensic pathologists investigating mass graves. It is now recognised, however, that witness evidence from those who survive atrocities can be supported by medical experts in documenting torture both immediately and many years after the event. As is patently evident from news coverage, the number of asylum seekers in the West fleeing persecution abroad has increased steadily and there is a real need to provide those involved in examining these individuals with a comprehensive reference source which will underpin the Istanbul Protocol and provide the academic background for bringing prosecutions against alleged torturers before the newly mandated International Criminal Court.

We are plagued by leaders who mislead and repress – it is more important than ever to stand up to them.'Quite astonishingly on point... riveting.' James O'BrienThe Covid-19 catastrophe has exposed the fabulists who rule throughout the world, in dictatorships, democracies and hybrids of the two. The misinformation they spread and the fake policy solutions they tout have become their own pandemic.Here, Michael Peel vividly recounts ferocious international battles over truth and the right to tell it. From Britain’s struggle with itself over Brexit to Syria’s civil war, he reveals the trademark deceptions and the powerful interests that profit from them in the defining fight of an era.

'A rare writer with the courage to tell Britain some home truths about itself and where it's headed. A much needed book'. - Ian Dunt'What Britain needs at the moment is not to be talked up or talked down, but simply a sense of itself that's underpinned by clarity and honesty... This is exactly what Michael Peel provides in this persuasive, good-humoured book.' - Jonathan Coe'A wake-up call for those still under the illusion that Great Britain plc punches above its weight'. - Chris Mullin, author of A Very British Coup'Entertaining and smart.' - Geoff Norcott'Michael Peel is a top class thinker and writer. This is a necessary book as well as an extremely entertaining one.' - Simon Kuper'Sharp, witty and eye-opening. As Peel convincingly argues, we can do so much better.' - Matthew Parker, author of One Fine Day: Britain's Empire On the Brink'Lively and well-researched... If only Britain knew how it was seen!' - The SpectatorHow do you see Britain? That might depend on your point of view, and as long time British foreign correspondent, Michael Peel has come to understand, it can look very different from outside.It's tempting to think of the UK as a fundamentally stable and successful nation. But events of the past few years, from Brexit to exposés of imperial history, have begun to spark fierce public debates about whether that is true. Is Britain, just a marginal northern European island nation, marked by injustices, corruption and with a bloody history of slavery, repression and looting? And yet UK politics, media, and public opinion live constantly in the shadow of old myths, Second World War era nostalgia, and a belief in supposedly core British values of tolerance, decency and fair play. British politicians regularly exploit a damaging complacency that holds that everything will turn out okay, because, in Britain, it always does.In WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT BRITAIN, Michael Peel digs into the national consciousness with the perspective of distance to pull apart the ways in which we British have become unmoored from crucial truths about ourselves. He shows us that from many perspectives we are no different from other countries whose own national delusions have seen them succumb to abuses of power, increased poverty and divisive conflict.The battle over Britain's narrative is the struggle for its future and its place in the world. So, how do we escape the trick mirror - and see ourselves as we really are?

'A rare writer with the courage to tell Britain some home truths about itself and where it's headed. A much needed book'. - Ian Dunt'What Britain needs at the moment is not to be talked up or talked down, but simply a sense of itself that's underpinned by clarity and honesty... This is exactly what Michael Peel provides in this persuasive, good-humoured book.' - Jonathan Coe'A wake-up call for those still under the illusion that Great Britain plc punches above its weight'. - Chris Mullin, author of A Very British Coup'Entertaining and smart.' - Geoff Norcott'Michael Peel is a top class thinker and writer. This is a necessary book as well as an extremely entertaining one.' - Simon Kuper'Sharp, witty and eye-opening. As Peel convincingly argues, we can do so much better.' - Matthew Parker, author of One Fine Day: Britain's Empire On the Brink'Lively and well-researched... If only Britain knew how it was seen!' - The SpectatorHow do you see Britain? That might depend on your point of view, and as long time British foreign correspondent, Michael Peel has come to understand, it can look very different from outside.It's tempting to think of the UK as a fundamentally stable and successful nation. But events of the past few years, from Brexit to exposés of imperial history, have begun to spark fierce public debates about whether that is true. Is Britain, just a marginal northern European island nation, marked by injustices, corruption and with a bloody history of slavery, repression and looting? And yet UK politics, media, and public opinion live constantly in the shadow of old myths, Second World War era nostalgia, and a belief in supposedly core British values of tolerance, decency and fair play. British politicians regularly exploit a damaging complacency that holds that everything will turn out okay, because, in Britain, it always does.In WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT BRITAIN, Michael Peel digs into the national consciousness with the perspective of distance to pull apart the ways in which we British have become unmoored from crucial truths about ourselves. He shows us that from many perspectives we are no different from other countries whose own national delusions have seen them succumb to abuses of power, increased poverty and divisive conflict.The battle over Britain's narrative is the struggle for its future and its place in the world. So, how do we escape the trick mirror - and see ourselves as we really are?

'A rare writer with the courage to tell Britain some home truths about itself and where it's headed. A much needed book'. - Ian Dunt'What Britain needs at the moment is not to be talked up or talked down, but simply a sense of itself that's underpinned by clarity and honesty... This is exactly what Michael Peel provides in this persuasive, good-humoured book.' - Jonathan Coe'A wake-up call for those still under the illusion that Great Britain plc punches above its weight'. - Chris Mullin, author of A Very British Coup'Entertaining and smart.' - Geoff Norcott'Michael Peel is a top class thinker and writer. This is a necessary book as well as an extremely entertaining one.' - Simon Kuper'Sharp, witty and eye-opening. As Peel convincingly argues, we can do so much better.' - Matthew Parker, author of One Fine Day: Britain's Empire On the BrinkUPDATED EDITION FOLLOWING 2024 ELECTIONHow do you see Britain? That might depend on your point of view, and as long time British foreign correspondent, Michael Peel has come to understand, it can look very different from outside.It's tempting to think of the UK as a fundamentally stable and successful nation. But events of the past few years, from Brexit to exposés of imperial history, have begun to spark fierce public debates about whether that is true. Is Britain, just a marginal northern European island nation, marked by injustices, corruption and with a bloody history of slavery, repression and looting? And yet UK politics, media, and public opinion live constantly in the shadow of old myths, Second World War era nostalgia, and a belief in supposedly core British values of tolerance, decency and fair play. British politicians regularly exploit a damaging complacency that holds that everything will turn out okay, because, in Britain, it always does.In WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT BRITAIN, Michael Peel digs into the national consciousness with the perspective of distance to pull apart the ways in which we British have become unmoored from crucial truths about ourselves. He shows us that from many perspectives we are no different from other countries whose own national delusions have seen them succumb to abuses of power, increased poverty and divisive conflict.The battle over Britain's narrative is the struggle for its future and its place in the world. So, how do we escape the trick mirror - and see ourselves as we really are?