View source for Richard Norton-Taylor

{{short description|British editor, journalist and playwright}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Richard Norton-Taylor
| image        = 
| caption      = 
| alt          =
| birth_name   = Richard Seymour Norton-Taylor
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1944|6|4|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = 
| education    = [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]]
| occupation   = [[Editing|Editor]], [[journalist]] and [[playwright]]
| alias        = 
| title        = 
| family       = 
| spouse       = Anna C. Rendle (m. 1967)
| children     = Hugo Norton-Taylor, Sam Norton-Taylor
| relatives    = 5 grandchildren
| nationality  =
| years_active = <!-- YYYY – present -->
| credits      = 
| agent        = 
| website      = 
}}

'''Richard Seymour Norton-Taylor''' (born 6 June 1944)<ref name="D-day baby">{{cite news |last=Norton-Taylor |first=Richard |title=I was a D-day baby, but at least I wasn't called Dwight |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/02/i-was-a-d-day-baby-at-least-i-wasnt-called-dwight |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2 June 2019 |access-date=8 April 2023}}</ref> is a British [[Editing|editor]], [[journalist]], and [[playwright]]. He wrote for ''[[The Guardian]]'' on defence and security matters from 1975 to 2016, and was the newspaper's security editor. He now works for the investigative journalism site ''[[Declassified UK]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Norton-Taylor |first=Richard |title=How British journalists are seduced by the Ministry of Defence and spooks |url=https://declassifieduk.org/how-british-journalists-are-seduced-by-the-ministry-of-defence-and-spooks/ |website=Declassified UK |date=28 September 2021 |access-date=8 April 2023}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
He was born to Lt. Seymour Norton-Taylor, R.A., and Gweneth Joan Powell (died 9 January 1978).

Norton-Taylor was educated at [[The King's School, Canterbury|The King's School]] in [[Canterbury]], [[Kent]], going on to study at [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College]], a [[Collegiate university|constituent college]] of the [[University of Oxford]], and the [[College of Europe]] in [[Bruges]].<ref name="D-day baby" />

==Career==
He was the [[European Community]] and [[Brussels]] correspondent for both ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[Newsweek]]'' between 1967 and 1975, while also contributing to ''[[The Economist]]'' and the ''[[Financial Times]]''.

Norton-Taylor joined ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 1975, concentrating on [[Government of the United Kingdom|Whitehall]], official secrecy, and behind-the-scenes decision-making. He became an expert on British and Soviet intelligence activities during the [[Second World War]]. In 1988, he made an extended appearance on the TV discussion programme ''[[After Dark (TV series)|After Dark]]'', alongside (among others) [[Harold Musgrove]], [[Hilary Wainwright]] and [[George Brumwell]], discussing his book ''Blacklist: The Inside Story of Political Vetting'', co-written with Mark Hollingsworth.

He has written several plays based on transcripts of public inquiries, including ''The Colour of Justice'' (1999), based on the hearing of the [[Death of Stephen Lawrence#Public inquiries into the police investigation|MacPherson Inquiry]] into the police conduct of the investigation into the [[Death of Stephen Lawrence|murder of Stephen Lawrence]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jan/17/race.world|title=Here is racism in all of its subtle shades|first=Susannah|last=Clapp|author-link = Susannah Clapp|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|date=17 January 1999|access-date = 7 April 2023}}</ref> Another was ''Justifying War: Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry'' (2003), both of which premiered at the [[Tricycle Theatre]].

Norton-Taylor left ''The Guardian'' in July 2016<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/17/brussels-spies-paradise-europe |last=Norton-Taylor |first=Richard |title='Brussels was paradise for journalists ... and full of spies' |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 July 2016 |access-date=7 April 2023 |page=31}}</ref> and currently writes for ''[[Declassified UK]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://declassifieduk.org/author/richard-norton-taylor/|title=RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR, Author at Declassified UK|website=Declassified UK}}</ref>

==Awards==
In 1986 Norton-Taylor won the [[Campaign for Freedom of Information|Freedom of Information Campaign]] award. That same year he was prevented initially by a court injunction from reporting the contents of ''[[Spycatcher]]'' (1987), the memoirs of [[Peter Wright (MI5 officer)|Peter Wright]], a former [[MI5]] agent. The government's injunction was dismissed in the High Court by [[Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote|Lord Justice Scott]].

Norton-Taylor was one of the few journalists to cover the [[Scott Report|Scott Inquiry]] from start to finish. His play, ''Half the Picture'', based on the inquiry, received a 1994 ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' Drama, Comedy and Dance award for its "brave initiative".

In 2010, with fellow ''Guardian'' journalist [[Ian Cobain]], he was awarded a Human Rights Campaign of the Year Award from [[Liberty (advocacy group)|Liberty]] for their "investigation into Britain's complicity in the use of torture" by the United States against detainees at their facility at [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] and at [[black sites]].<ref>Liberty, [https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/previous-award-winners List of previous winners]</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1967, he married Anna C Rendle.<ref>{{cite news|title=Forthcoming marriages|work=[[The Times]]|date=16 June 1967|page=12}}</ref> He has two children and five grandchildren. His son Hugo is a judge of the [[Upper Tribunal#Immigration and Asylum Chamber|Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Freedland |first1=Jacob |title=Gaza immigration judge's father is ex-Guardian journalist who campaigns against Israel online |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/12/gaza-immigration-judge-father-accused-israel-genocide/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=21 February 2025 |date=12 February 2025}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Norton-Taylor is a Member of Council of the [[Royal United Services Institute]] and a trustee of the Civil Liberties Trust and the London Action Trust.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Journalism}}
*[[British playwrights since 1950]]
*[[List of English writers]]
*[[List of playwrights by nationality and year of birth]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://twitter.com/NortonTaylor Richard Norton-Taylor on Twitter]
* [http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search?search=richard+norton-taylor&N=4294962404  Richard Norton-Taylor's articles], ''Guardian'' Unlimited website
* {{IMDb name|1532553}}
* [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/norton-taylor-richard.html  Richard Norton-Taylor at doollee.com, the playwright's database]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton-Taylor, Richard}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British investigative journalists]]
[[Category:College of Europe alumni]]
[[Category:English dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English newspaper editors]]
[[Category:English political writers]]
[[Category:English reporters and correspondents]]
[[Category:Financial Times people]]
[[Category:Newsweek people]]
[[Category:People educated at The King's School, Canterbury]]
[[Category:Writers from Canterbury]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:The Economist people]]
[[Category:The Guardian journalists]]
[[Category:The Washington Post journalists]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]