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Andreas Whittam Smith

@indyvoices

Andreas Whittam Smith co-founded The Independent and was its first editor from 1986 to 1994. He has continued to write for the title ever since, as well as serving variously as president of the British Board of Film Classification, chairman of the Financial Ombudsman Service and as First Church Estates Commissioner for the Church of England.

<p>The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Coronation Day</p>
The Longer Read

The Queen’s reign was founded on a steadfast commitment to the nation

<p>Whittam Smith in the newsroom toasts the first edition on 6 October 1986 </p>
The Longer Read

We began as a start-up – and we’re still innovating, 35 years on

10th March 1948: A prefabricated structure being used as a gynaecological ward at Guy's Hospital, London. The ward is named after Dame Sarah Swift, matron of Guy's from 1900 to 1909.
Long Reads

How it took nearly a century for the NHS to be formed

The vast majority of councils and housing associations believe government welfare policy is hitting their efforts to tackle homelessness
Long Reads

Austerity has eliminated our budget deficit – but at what cost?

The words hasty and overambitious come to mind, with a large dollop of unintended consequences
Long Reads

The case for a second Brexit referendum

To the barricades: on 30 May, the unions led 400,000 to 500,000 protesters through Paris chanting ‘Adieu, De Gaulle’
Long Reads

50 years on, how youth riots brought France to the brink of revolution

Vladimir Putin’s country covers more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land area
Long Reads

Is the Cold War really back with a vengeance?

Reinvention is rife in London and, as architecture writer Deyan Sudjic notes, the capital is as fluid now as it has ever been
News

To save our cities, we must let them breathe

Top, from left: Michael Walsh, Christopher Howarth, Gordon Rideout and Michael Mytton. Bottom, from left: Jonathan Graves, Vickery House, Terence Banks and Peter Ball
Long Reads

Child sexual abuse in the church

During the epidemic soldiers with a mild strain stayed where they were, while the severely ill were sent on crowded trains to crowded field hospitals, spreading the deadlier virus
Long Reads

100 years on from the Spanish Flu, we are facing another pandemic

A specialist subsidiary of a major bank, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), was taking unfair advantage of small businesses that were experiencing financial difficulties
Voices

Why are banks getting away with misbehaving?

For people who know Britain’s record as a colonial power, Amritsar, even with its marvellous temple, has negative connotations
Voices

Britain is also to blame for the century-long controversy of Amritsar

Vikings from Shetland’s Up Helly Aa Festival take part in a torchlight procession
Voices

After Cheddar Man: How the English found their home in the Dark Ages

Voices

After Cheddar Man: How the English found their home in the Dark Ages

Vikings from Shetland’s Up Helly Aa Festival take part in a torchlight procession
Haringey Council leader Claire Kober quit over a plan to demolish and rebuild two large council estates
Voices

Those protesting against Labour's property developers deals are right

What is left of Theresa May's power is dwindling rapidly
Voices

This week has suddenly shortened the lifespan of May's premiership

In April, Britain recorded its first full day without coal power ‘since the Industrial Revolution’
Voices

Big business can work alongside government

‘Theresa May is a sphinx without a riddle. People think she is thinking something really deep, but the truth is she doesn’t know what to think’
Voices

Theresa May doesn’t have the right character to be Prime Minister

‘Theresa May is a sphinx without a riddle. People think she is thinking something really deep, but the truth is she doesn’t know what to think’
Voices

Theresa May doesn’t have the right character to be Prime Minister

Lord Bassam will stand down as Labour's Chief Whip in the Lords next year after criticism of his expenses claims
Voices

Politicians are still taking us for a ride over their expenses

Theresa May is making her second visit to Saudi Arabia during a tour of the Middle East
Voices

Can May really criticise Saudi for using the weapons we sold them?

Merkel or Macron? The British shouldn't rejoice about the departure of the former
Voices

Macron is now de facto head of the EU – bad news for Brexit Britain

Has David Davis hit the reverse lights and backed himself into a corner?
Voices

It's possible Parliament just started the process of a Brexit reversal

Theresa May has faced scandal after scandal in the past few weeks
Voices

The Tory crisis will escalate if the unions get involved

Philip Hammond has told Jeremy Hunt that the NHS needs to increase its productivity
Voices

An increase in NHS productivity could cause a business revolution

Help to Buy has been a failure of a scheme: it increases demand without supply
Voices

To solve the housing crisis we have to end our attachment to ownership

Attlee was a dull speaker who produced a sparkling manifesto. Corbyn is the reverse
Voices

To understand Corbynism, we must look back to 1945

Philip Hammond has told Jeremy Hunt that the NHS needs to increase its productivity
Voices

An increase in NHS productivity could cause a business revolution

Help to Buy has been a failure of a scheme: it increases demand without supply
Voices

To solve the housing crisis we have to end our attachment to ownership

Attlee was a dull speaker who produced a sparkling manifesto. Corbyn is the reverse
Voices

To understand Corbynism, we must look back to 1945

The Prime Minister met European Council President Donald Tusk at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday
Voices

Theresa May is calling the EU's bluff over a 'no deal' Brexit

Voices

Theresa May is calling the EU's bluff over a 'no deal' Brexit

The Prime Minister met European Council President Donald Tusk at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday
Boris Johnson and President Trump have quite a lot in common
Voices

I once met a person with the same amoral judgement as Trump and Boris

We can see the effects of austerity when walking down the street
Voices

The UK is the only country that continues to believe austerity works

France has always been inextricably linked to Germany in a way that the UK has managed to avoid
Voices

Barnier’s Brexit comments come from a Gaullist place of jealousy

Theresa May has vowed to crack down on corporate greed
Voices

Fat cat pay is not justified when British productivity is so poor

Theresa May has vowed to crack down on corporate greed
Voices

Fat cat pay is not justified when British productivity is so poor

The Office for National Statistics has found that it isn't only confectionery that's getting smaller
Voices

'Shrinkflation' is fraud by another name

A national government is a coalition of the major political parties
Voices

Brexit means we need a national government

Voices

There is no national interest in this dishonest DUP deal

Theresa May's manifesto was starkly different to the usual Conservative offering at the general election
Voices

Theresa May knows the Conservatives need to reform

Emmanuel Macron has said that remaining in the EU is on the table for the UK
Voices

Brexiteers won't let us consider the option of remaining in the EU

Labour’s rise in popularity suggests a resurgence of the old duopoly in UK politics
Voices

Two-party politics is back – sort of

Theresa May has been accused of repeating party lines and not answering questions during interviews
Voices

May will meet the same fate as Clinton if she keeps being secretive

The US President is leading his country towards a political crisis that could end in his impeachment
Voices

Donald Trump is bringing America to a crisis point

Theresa May has followed in David Cameron's footsteps by ignoring ordinary voters in the run up to the general election
Voices

Our politicians are simply not up to the job

Marine Le Pen is head to head against Emmanuel Macron in the final round of the French elections
Voices

Why does the far right always persist in French politics?

Mr Macron claimed 23.8 per cent of votes in the first round
Voices

Macron and Trump may share the same political fates

Voices

Macron and Trump may share the same political fates

Mr Macron claimed 23.8 per cent of votes in the first round
Voters deserve more choice and chance to be more engaged than today's political system grants them
Voices

After Brexit, we need more than just a new political party

Michel Barnier, the lead negotiator for the EU
Voices

May’s letter gives us a reason to be cheerful about Britain's future

George Osborne, the incoming editor of the London Evening Standard, meets staff at the newspaper on the day his appointment was announced
Voices

We need more MPs who put themselves to work like George Osborne

Parisian puzzler: generous jobs for family members, €13,000 tailoring requests, mysterious interest-free loans… something odd is going on with François Fillon
Voices

When you look into the charges against Fillon, things get very strange

Parisian puzzler: generous jobs for family members, €13,000 tailoring requests, mysterious interest-free loans… something odd is going on with François Fillon
Voices

When you look into the charges against Fillon, things get very strange

Tony Blair noted that nine months ago the PM was telling us that leaving would be bad for the country, its economy, its security and its place in the world
Voices

Theresa May needs to take on board Brexit concerns

Marine Le Pen would need her opponents' opponents support to secure the French presidency – but could it still happen?
Voices

Marine Le Pen could still win the French election – this is how

Former Chancellor George Osborne and former PM David Cameron were among the leaders who brought Western liberal democracy to its present crisis point
Voices

This is the end of the West – and the West is to blame

Another characteristic Macron shares with Trump is that he attracts huge crowds to his meetings
Voices

Meet Emmanuel Macron, France’s answer to Donald Trump

Theresa May is due to give a speech on Brexit this week
Voices

The lack of productivity in the UK could overshadow Brexit's problems

Theresa May is due to give a speech tomorrow to outline her plans on reform
Voices

Theresa May is set to announce revolutionary social reform policies

Voices

Have I been accidentally writing sexist job references?

Donald Trump and General James Mattis
Voices

Tillerson and 'Mad Dog' Mattis are fine appointments by Trump

Philip Hammond used his Autumn Statement to highlight Britain's problem with productivity
Voices

Britain's bad managers are to blame for our lack of productivity

Francois Fillon
Voices

We now know who's likely to become France's new President

Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown this morning
Voices

Don’t be fooled that Donald Trump’s advisers can tame him

Voices

Don’t be fooled that Donald Trump’s advisers can tame him

Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown this morning
A police officer wrestles a miner to the ground during the violent confrontation in South Yorkshire on 18 June 1984
Voices

This is why we still need an inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave

A prisoner reads a book in his cell at HMP Pentonville
Voices

Don’t be surprised by the violent death of a man at Pentonville Prison

David Davis should think very carefully about what Parliament’s role should be in reaching a satisfactory Brexit settlement
Voices

WWII tells us how Parliament should respond to Brexit

Andreas Whittam Smith, surrounded by editorial staff, holds a copy of the first official ‘Independent’ in October 1986
30 Years of The Independent

A moment in time that gave us The Independent

Andreas Whittam Smith, surrounded by editorial staff, holds a copy of the first official ‘Independent’ in October 1986
30 Years of The Independent

A moment in time that gave us The Independent

Ben Emmerson QC was earlier reported to have been left ‘running the show’ after the departure of three chairs from the child sex abuse inquiry
Voices

The child sex abuse inquiry is failing to achieve justice

Liam Fox claimed some business leaders were not exporting because it meant they couldn't 'play golf on a Friday'
Voices

Liam Fox is right about British exporters – we’re just not good enough

Many readers have been in contact to discuss political reform
Voices

Is the jury system a good basis for a new democracy?

In our sights, as well as Canada and Australia, there should be New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, the USA and China
Voices

Three ways the UK can make the most out of its new trade deals

The homelessness charity Crisis was set up in response to the 1966 film ‘Cathy Come Home’
Voices

The two simple things that could fix our broken democracy

When Theresa May warned her fellow Tories about being labelled the ‘nasty party’, she was using the language of brands
Voices

How spin doctors destroyed our democracy

David Cameron wants to lead EU negotiations even in the event of Brexit – and he may do so as leader of a cross-party 'national' government
Voices

Cameron could lead a cross-party government within weeks

Osborne already tried to scare older people by saying that their state pensions would be at risk in the event of Britain leaving the EU
Voices

George Osborne is trying to bully the nation into voting remain

A guard closes the gate of Google's Paris headquarters after a raid
Voices

Google has a dangerously close relationship with our politicians

David Cameron in his Witney constituency warning a vote to leave the European Union could tip the British economy back into recession
Voices

With a heavy heart, here's how I will vote in the EU referendum

François Mitterand, the former French president, believed the single currency would help other European countries regain power lost to Germany
Voices

The euro was designed to assuage fears of German power

Delegates at the signing of the European Common Market Treaty in Rome - March 25 1957
Europe

How the European Union went from war baby to problem child

The probation officers’ union, Napo, campaigned against reform of the service
Voices

The Tories' probation plans are a case of privatisation gone mad

Port Talbot management and employees, Tata itself and the British Government as a co-investor could come together in a fruitful partnership
Voices

Port Talbot buyout bid shows that British industry can save itself

Larry Fink, the boss of fund manager BlackRock, warned against the introduction of negative interest rate
Voices

Low interest rates revived the economy, but now we're all suffering

Business Secretary Sajid Javid addresses steel workers at Port Talbot
Voices

The three options for selling off Tata Steel

Port Talbot management and employees, Tata itself and the British Government as a co-investor could come together in a fruitful partnership
Voices

Port Talbot buyout bid shows that British industry can save itself

Larry Fink, the boss of fund manager BlackRock, warned against the introduction of negative interest rate
Voices

Low interest rates revived the economy, but now we're all suffering

Business Secretary Sajid Javid addresses steel workers at Port Talbot
Voices

The three options for selling off Tata Steel

Andreas Whittam Smith, surrounded by editorial staff, holds a copy of the first official ‘Independent’ in October 1986
Press

The Independent's founder on a dream that lasted as readers shared it

Voices

A bittersweet Budget has acted on sugar - but not on infrastructure

Boris Johnson on the Andrew Marr show, 6 March 2016
Voices

The Brexit gag is a political act – but is Boris to blame?

'Some of Osborne's comments in Shanghai left me uneasy'
Voices

A global recession could be on its way - and Osborne needs to wake up

Protesters line up outside the White House calling for the closing of Guantanamo Bay.
Voices

Sadly, Guantanamo will stay open as long as Americans stay angry

David Cameron delivers a speech on 'the future of the European Union and Britain's role within it'
Voices

Cameron aims low in EU negotiation despite UK’s favourable hand

Nuclear sanctions on Iran have been lifted, sparking an all-out oil war between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Voices

With the markets in turmoil, the risk of deflation is high

Environment Agency chairman Sir Philip Dilley, who faced criticism during the floods has resigned
Voices

Philip Dilley was unfit to lead. So why was he given a public post?

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