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''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, which is owned by
News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the original News Corporation, it was formed on June 28, 2013, following a ...
. Times Newspapers also publishes ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
''. The two papers were founded independently and have been under
common ownership Common ownership refers to holding the assets of an organization, enterprise or community indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or groups of members as common property. Forms of common ownership exist in every econom ...
since 1966. They were bought by News International in 1981. ''The Sunday Times'' has a circulation of just over 650,000, which exceeds that of its main rivals, including ''The'' ''Sunday Telegraph'' and ''The'' ''Observer'', combined. While some other national newspapers moved to a tabloid format in the early 2000s, ''The Sunday Times'' has retained the larger
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...
format and has said that it would continue to do so. As of December 2019, it sells 75% more copies than its sister paper, ''The Times'', which is published from Monday to Saturday. The paper publishes ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List and ''The Sunday Times'' Fast Track 100.


History


Founding and early history (1821–1915)

The paper began publication on 18 February 1821 as ''The New Observer'', but from 21 April its title was changed to the ''Independent Observer''. Its founder, Henry White, chose the name in an apparent attempt to take advantage of the success of the ''Observer'', which had been founded in 1791, although there was no connection between the two papers. On 20 October 1822 it was reborn as ''The Sunday Times'', although it had no relationship with ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
''. In January 1823, White sold the paper to
Daniel Whittle Harvey Daniel Whittle Harvey (10 January 1786 – 24 February 1863) was a Radical English politician who founded The Sunday Times newspaper and was the first Commissioner of the City of London Police. Harvey trained as a lawyer, and became a Fellow of ...
, a radical politician. Under its new owner, ''The Sunday Times'' notched up several firsts: a wood engraving it published of the coronation of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
in 1838 was the largest illustration to have appeared in a British newspaper. In 1841, it became one of the first papers to serialise a novel: William Harrison Ainsworth's ''Old St Paul's''. The paper was bought in 1887 by Alice Anne Cornwell who had made a fortune in mining in Australia and floating the Midas Mine Company of the London Stock Exchange. She bought the paper to promote her new company, The British and Australasian Mining Investment Company, and as a gift to her lover Frederick Stannard (‘Phil’) Robinson. Robinson was installed as editor and the two were later married in 1894. She then sold it in 1893 to Frederick Beer, who already owned '' Observer''. Beer appointed his wife, Rachel Sassoon Beer, as editor. She was already editor of '' Observer'' – the first woman to run a national newspaper – and continued to edit both titles until 1901.


The Kemsley years (1915–59)

There was a further change of ownership in 1903, and then in 1915 the paper was bought by William Berry and his brother, Gomer Berry, later ennobled as Lord Camrose and Viscount Kemsley respectively. Under their ownership, ''The Sunday Times'' continued its reputation for innovation: on 23 November 1930, it became the first Sunday newspaper to publish a 40-page issue and on 21 January 1940, news replaced advertising on the front page. In 1943, the Kemsley Newspapers Group was established, with ''The Sunday Times'' becoming its flagship paper. At this time, Kemsley was the largest newspaper group in Britain. On 12 November 1945,
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...
, who later created
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...
, joined the paper as foreign manager (foreign editor) and special writer. The following month, circulation reached 500,000. On 28 September 1958, the paper launched a separate Review section, becoming the first newspaper to publish two sections regularly.


The Thomson years (1959–81)

In 1959, the Kemsley group was bought by Lord Thomson, and in October 1960 circulation reached one million for the first time. In another first, on 4 February 1962 the editor, Denis Hamilton, launched '' The Sunday Times Magazine''. (At the insistence of newsagents, worried at the impact on sales of standalone magazines, it was initially called the "colour section" and did not take the name '' The Sunday Times Magazine'' until 9 August 1964.) The cover picture of the first issue was of Jean Shrimpton wearing a Mary Quant outfit and was taken by
David Bailey David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Early life David Bailey was born at Wh ...
. The magazine got off to a slow start, but the advertising soon began to pick up, and, over time, other newspapers launched magazines of their own. In 1963, the
Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...
investigative team was established under Clive Irving. On 27 September 1964, the ''Business'' section was launched, making ''The Sunday Times'' Britain's first regular three-section newspaper. In September 1966, Thomson bought ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', to form
Times Newspapers Ltd News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher o ...
(TNL). It was the first time both ''The Sunday Times'' and ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' had been brought under the same ownership. Harold Evans, editor from 1967 until 1981, established ''The Sunday Times'' as a leading campaigning and investigative newspaper. On 19 May 1968, the paper published its first major campaigning report on the drug
Thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications o ...
, which had been reported by the Australian doctor William McBride in ''
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles ...
'' in 1961 as associated with birth defects, and quickly withdrawn. The newspaper published a four-page
Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...
investigation, entitled ''The Thalidomide File'', in the ''Weekly Review'' section. A compensation settlement for the UK victims was eventually reached with
Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later f ...
(now part of
Diageo Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...
), which had distributed the drug in the UK. TNL was plagued by a series of industrial disputes at its plant at Gray's Inn Road in London, with the print unions resisting attempts to replace the old-fashioned hot-metal and labour-intensive Linotype method with technology that would allow the papers to be composed digitally. Thomson offered to invest millions of pounds to buy out obstructive practices and overmanning, but the unions rejected every proposal. As a result, publication of ''The Sunday Times'' and other titles in the group was suspended in November 1978. It did not resume until November 1979. Although journalists at ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' had been on full pay during the suspension, they went on strike demanding more money after production was resumed. Kenneth Thomson, the head of the company, felt betrayed and decided to sell. Evans tried to organise a management buyout of ''The Sunday Times'', but Thomson decided instead to sell to
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
, who he thought had a better chance of dealing with the trade unions.


The Murdoch years (1981–present)

Murdoch Murdoch ( , ) is an Irish/Scottish given name, as well as a surname. The name is derived from old Gaelic words ''mur'', meaning "sea" and ''murchadh'', meaning "sea warrior". The following is a list of notable people or entities with the name. ...
's
News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...
acquired the group in February 1981. Murdoch, an Australian who in 1985 became a
naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
American citizen, already owned '' The Sun'' and the ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one ...
'', but the Conservative government decided not to refer the deal to the
Monopolies and Mergers Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under ...
, citing a clause in the Fair Trading Act that exempted uneconomic businesses from referral. The Thomson Corporation had threatened to close the papers down if they were not taken over by someone else within an allotted time, and it was feared that any legal delay to Murdoch's takeover might lead to the two titles' demise. In return, Murdoch provided legally binding guarantees to preserve the titles' editorial independence. Evans was appointed editor of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' in February 1981 and was replaced at ''The Sunday Times'' by Frank Giles. In 1983, the newspaper bought the serialisation rights to publish the faked ''
Hitler Diaries The Hitler Diaries (german: Hitler-Tagebücher) were a series of sixty volumes of journals purportedly written by Adolf Hitler, but forged by Konrad Kujau between 1981 and 1983. The diaries were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million Deutsche ...
'', thinking them to be genuine after they were authenticated by the own newspaper's own independent director, Hugh Trevor-Roper, the historian and author of ''The Last Days of Hitler''. Under Andrew Neil, editor from 1983 until 1994, ''The Sunday Times'' took a strongly Thatcherite slant that contrasted with the
traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
paternalistic conservatism expounded by Peregrine Worsthorne at the rival ''
Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', ...
''. It also built on its reputation for investigations. Its scoops included the revelation in 1986 that
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
had manufactured more than 100
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
warheads and the publication in 1992 of extracts from Andrew Morton's book, ''Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words''. In the early 1990s, the paper courted controversy with a series of articles in which it rejected the role of HIV in causing AIDS. In January 1986, after the announcement of a strike by print workers, production of ''The Sunday Times'', along with other newspapers in the group, was shifted to a new plant in Wapping, and the strikers were dismissed. The plant, which allowed journalists to input copy directly, was activated with the help of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU). The print unions posted pickets and organised demonstrations outside the new plant to try to dissuade journalists and others from working there, in what became known as the
Wapping Dispute The Wapping dispute was a lengthy failed strike by print workers in London in 1986. Print unions tried to block distribution of ''The Sunday Times'', along with other newspapers in Rupert Murdoch's News International group, after production w ...
. The demonstrations sometimes turned violent. The protest ended in failure in February 1987. During Neil's editorship, a number of new sections were added: the annual ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List and the
Funday Times The ''Funday Times'' was a section of the UK ''Sunday Times.'' It was intended mainly for children, and included several comic strips, including '' Dennis and Gnasher'', '' Rex and Tex'', ''Beryl the Peril'', '' Fans Utd.'', ''Scooby-Doo'', '' ...
, in 1989, (the latter stopped appearing in print and was relaunched as a standalone website in March 2006, but was later closed); Style & Travel, News Review and Arts in 1990, and Culture in 1992. In September 1994, Style and Travel became two separate sections. During Neil's time as editor, ''The Sunday Times'' backed a campaign to prove that HIV was not a cause of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
.Ben Summerskil
"Paper tiger"
''The Observer'', 28 July 2002
In 1990, ''The Sunday Times'' serialized a book by an American conservative who rejected the scientific consensus on the causes of AIDS and argued that AIDS could not spread to heterosexuals. Articles and editorials in ''The Sunday Times'' cast doubt on the scientific consensus, described HIV as a "politically correct virus" about which there was a "conspiracy of silence," disputed that AIDS was spreading in Africa, claimed that tests for HIV were invalid, described the HIV/AIDS treatment drug AZT as harmful, and characterized the WHO as an "Empire-building AIDS rganisation" The
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
coverage of HIV/AIDS in ''the Sunday Times'' led the scientific journal ''Nature'' to monitor the newspaper's coverage and to publish letters rebutting ''Sunday Times'' articles which ''the Sunday Times'' refused to publish. In response to this, ''the Sunday Times'' published an article headlined "AIDS - why we won’t be silenced", which claimed that ''Nature'' engaged in censorship and "sinister intent". In his 1996 book, ''Full Disclosure'', Neil wrote that the HIV/AIDS denialism "deserved publication to encourage debate." That same year, he wrote that ''the Sunday Times'' had been vindicated in its coverage, "The Sunday Times was one of a handful of newspapers, perhaps the most prominent, which argued that heterosexual Aids was a myth. The figures are now in and this newspaper stands totally vindicated... The history of Aids is one of the great scandals of our time. I do not blame doctors and the Aids lobby for warning that everybody might be at risk in the early days, when ignorance was rife and reliable evidence scant." He criticized the "AIDS establishment" and said "Aids had become an industry, a job-creation scheme for the caring classes."
John Witherow John Witherow (born 20 January 1952) is a former editor of British newspaper ''The Times''. A former journalist with Reuters, he joined News International (now News UK) in 1980 and was appointed editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in 1994 and edito ...
, who became editor at the end of 1994 (after several months as acting editor), continued the newspaper's expansion. A website was launched in 1996 and new print sections added: Home in 2001, and Driving in 2002, which in 2006 was renamed InGear. (It reverted to the name Driving from 7 October 2012, to coincide with the launch of a new standalone website, Sunday Times Driving.) Technology coverage was expanded in 2000 with the weekly colour magazine Doors, and in 2003 The Month, an editorial section presented as an interactive CD-Rom. Magazine partworks were regular additions, among them 1000 Makers of Music, published over six weeks in 1997. John Witherow oversaw a rise in circulation to 1.3 million and reconfirmed ''The Sunday Times's'' reputation for publishing hard-hitting news stories – such as
Cash for Questions The "cash-for-questions affair" was a political scandal of the 1990s in the United Kingdom. It began in October 1994 when ''The Guardian'' newspaper alleged that London's most successful parliamentary lobbyist, Ian Greer of Ian Greer Associate ...
in 1994 and Cash for Honours in 2006, and revelations of corruption at Fifa in 2010. The newspaper's foreign coverage has been especially strong, and its reporters,
Marie Colvin Marie Catherine Colvin (January 12, 1956 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper '' The Sunday Times'' from 1985 until her death. She died while covering the siege ...
,
Jon Swain Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer. Swain's book ''River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam '' chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia. Ea ...
, Hala Jaber,
Mark Franchetti Mark Franchetti is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. He worked for 23 years as a correspondent for the Sunday Times of London, much of it as the paper's Moscow correspondent. Fluent in five languages, Franchetti was awarded the British Press ...
and
Christina Lamb Christina Lamb OBE (born 15 May 1965) is a British journalist and author. She is the chief foreign correspondent of ''The Sunday Times''. Lamb has won sixteen major awards including four British Press Awards and the European Prix Bayeux-Calvad ...
have dominated the Foreign Reporter of the Year category at the British Press Awards since 2000. Colvin, who worked for the paper from 1985, was killed in February 2012 by Syrian forces while covering the siege of Homs during that country's civil war. In common with other newspapers, ''The Sunday Times'' has been hit by a fall in circulation, which has declined from a peak of 1.3 million to just over 710,000. It has a number of digital-only subscribers, which numbered 99,017 by January 2019. During January 2013, Martin Ivens became 'acting' editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in succession to John Witherow, who became the 'acting' editor of ''The Times'' at the same time. The independent directors rejected a permanent position for Ivens as editor to avoid any possible merger of ''The Sunday Times'' and daily ''Times'' titles.Katherine Rushto
"John Witherow named acting editor of The Times as News International eyes merger"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 18 January 2013


Online presence

''The Sunday Times'' has its own website. It previously shared an online presence with ''The Times'', but in May 2010 they both launched their own sites to reflect their distinct brand identities. Since July 2010, the sites are charging for access. An iPad edition was launched in December 2010, and an Android version in August 2011. Since July 2012, the digital version of the paper has been available on Apple's Newsstand platform, allowing automated downloading of the news section. With over 500 MB of content every week, it is the biggest newspaper app in the world. ''The Sunday Times'' iPad app was named newspaper app of the year at the 2011 Newspaper Awards and has twice been ranked best newspaper or magazine app in the world by iMonitor. Various subscription packages exist, giving access to both the print and digital versions of the paper. On 2 October 2012, ''The Sunday Times'' launched Sunday Times Driving, a separate classified advertising site for premium vehicles that also includes editorial content from the newspaper as well as specially commissioned articles. It can be accessed without cost.


Related publications


''The Sunday Times Travel Magazine''

This 164-page monthly magazine is sold separately from the newspaper and is Britain's best-selling travel magazine. The first issue of '' The Sunday Times Travel Magazine'' was in 2003, and it includes news, features and insider guides.


Notable stories

Some of the more notable or controversial stories published in ''The Sunday Times'' include: *
Thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications o ...
, a drug prescribed to pregnant women to treat morning sickness, was withdrawn in 1961 following reports that it was linked to a number of birth defects. ''The Sunday Times'' spent many years campaigning for compensation for the victims, providing case studies and evidence of the side-effects. In 1968, the Distillers Company agreed to a multimillion-pound compensation scheme for the victims. * The paper sponsored Francis Chichester's single-handed circumnavigation of the world under sail in 1966–67, and the ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race in 1968–69. * The Insight team ran an investigation into
Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British s ...
, the Soviet double agent, that ran on 1 October 1967 under the headline ''"Philby: I spied for Russia from 1933."'' * Insight carried out a major investigation in 1972 into
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. * The newspaper published the faked ''
Hitler Diaries The Hitler Diaries (german: Hitler-Tagebücher) were a series of sixty volumes of journals purportedly written by Adolf Hitler, but forged by Konrad Kujau between 1981 and 1983. The diaries were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million Deutsche ...
'' (1983), believing them to be genuine after they were authenticated by historian Hugh Trevor-Roper. * Israeli nuclear weapons: using information from Mordechai Vanunu, ''The Sunday Times'' in 1986 revealed that
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
had manufactured more than 100 nuclear warheads. * On 12 July 1987 ''The Sunday Times'' began serialisation of the book ''
Spycatcher ''Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer'' (1987) is a memoir written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. He drew on his own experiences and research in ...
'', the memoirs of an MI5 agent, which had been banned in Britain. The paper successfully challenged subsequent legal action by the British government, winning its case at the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
in 1991. * The paper ran a story claiming
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, who generally maintains a strictly impartial role politically, was upset with the style of
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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's leadership. * In 1990, in what became known as the Arms-to-Iraq affair, the paper revealed how Matrix Churchill and other British firms were supplying arms to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. * Over two years in the early 1990s, ''The Sunday Times'' published a series of articles rejecting the role of HIV in causing AIDS, calling the
African AIDS epidemic HIV/AIDS originated in Africa in the early 20th century and is a major public health concern and cause of death in many African countries. AIDS rates vary significantly between countries, though the majority of cases are concentrated in Southern ...
a myth. In response, the scientific journal ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' described the paper's coverage of HIV/AIDS as "seriously mistaken, and probably disastrous." ''Nature'' argued that the newspaper had "so consistently misrepresented the role of HIV in the causation of AIDS that ''Nature'' plans to monitor its future treatment of the issue." * In 1992, the paper published extracts from Andrew Morton's book ''Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words'', which revealed for the first time the disastrous state of her marriage to
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
. * Also in 1992, the paper agreed to pay
David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...
, an author widely criticised for
Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...
, the sum of £75,000 to authenticate the Goebbels diaries and edit them for serialisation. The deal was quickly cancelled after drawing strong international criticism. * In its “
cash for questions The "cash-for-questions affair" was a political scandal of the 1990s in the United Kingdom. It began in October 1994 when ''The Guardian'' newspaper alleged that London's most successful parliamentary lobbyist, Ian Greer of Ian Greer Associate ...
” investigation in 1994,
Graham Riddick Graham Edward Galloway Riddick (born 26 August 1955, Long Preston, West Riding of Yorkshire) was the Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Colne Valley in West Yorkshire, England from 1987 to 1997. Family and early life His father ...
, MP for Colne Valley and David Tredinnick, MP for Bosworth, accepted cheques for £1,000 each from an Insight journalist posing as a businessman in return for tabling a parliamentary question. The investigation followed information that some MPs were taking one-off payments to table questions. * Under the headline, "KGB:
Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on ''Tribune'' and the ''Evening Standard''. He co-wrote the 1940 p ...
was our agent", ''The Sunday Times'' ran an article on 19 February 1995 that claimed the Soviet intelligence services regarded Foot, a former leader of the Labour Party, as an "agent of influence", codenamed "Agent Boot"", and that he had been in the pay of the KGB for many years. The article was based on the serialisation of the memoirs of Oleg Gordievsky, a former high-ranking KGB officer who defected from the Soviet Union to Britain in 1985. Crucially, the newspaper used material from the original manuscript of the book which had not been included in the published version. Foot successfully sued, winning "substantial" damages. * In 1997–98, the paper ran a series of exclusive stories based on revelations from Richard Tomlinson, a former MI6 spy, about life inside MI6 and secret MI6 operations around the world. * During the siege of the United Nations compound in
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
in 1999, the paper's foreign reporter, Marie Colvin, was one of only three journalists (all women) who remained to the end with the 1,500 people trapped there. She reported their plight both in ''The Sunday Times'' and in interviews on radio and television and was widely credited with saving their lives. * In 2003, ''The Sunday Times'' published confidential Whitehall documents revealing the names of more than 300 people who had declined New Years, Queens Birthday and Dissolution honours (i.e. knighthoods, damehoods, etc.) * In 2006, in an investigation that became known as Cash for Honours, ''The Sunday Times'' revealed how several prominent figures nominated for life peerages by the then prime minister,
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...
, had loaned large amounts of money to the Labour Party at the suggestion of
Lord Levy Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy, (born 11 July 1944) is a Labour Party peer. He is a former chartered accountant and was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. He now acts as a consultant for a number of companies a ...
, a Labour Party fundraiser. * In mid-2009, the newspaper ran a series of articles revealing how politicians were abusing the expenses system. * Between 2004 and 2010, the newspaper ran an award-winning investigation by
Brian Deer Brian Deer is a British investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine and social issues for ''The Sunday Times''. Deer's investigative nonfiction book, ''The Doctor Who Fooled the World,'' was published in Se ...
which revealed that research by
Andrew Wakefield Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born September 3, 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic who was struck off the medical register for his involvement in ''The Lancet'' MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that ...
into the
MMR vaccine The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...
was fraudulent. The investigation led to Wakefield being banned from medicine, and the retraction of his research from ''
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles ...
''. * In January 2010, ''The Sunday Times'' published an article by Jonathan Leake, alleging that a figure in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report was based on an "unsubstantiated claim". The story attracted worldwide attention. However, a scientist quoted in the same article later stated that the newspaper story was wrong and that quotes of him had been used in a misleading way. Following an official complaint to the
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...
, ''The Sunday Times'' retracted the story and apologised. * In March 2010, undercover reporters from ''The Sunday Times'' Insight team filmed members of parliament agreeing to work for a fictitious lobbying firm for fees of £3,000-£5,000 a day. One of those implicated, Stephen Byers, described himself as "sort of like a cab for hire". * In October 2010, an investigation by the newspaper exposed corruption within FIFA after a member of the association's committee which grants the World Cup guaranteed his vote to an undercover reporter after requesting £500,000 for a "personal project". * In 2011, the paper broke what became known as the Cash for Influence scandal; it revealed that
Adrian Severin Adrian Severin (born 28 March 1954) is a Romanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. Adrian Severin started his politics career under the Communist rule, as Instructor (''lector'') at Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy, the univers ...
,
Ernst Strasser Ernst Strasser (* 29 April 1956 in Grieskirchen, Upper Austria) is a former Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) politician and former Federal Minister of the Interior in Austria (2000–2004), Member of the European Parliament (2009–2011) and bear ...
, Pablo Zalba Bidegain and
Zoran Thaler Zoran Thaler (born ) is a Slovenian politician and businessman. He is a former Slovenian foreign minister and a former member of the European Parliament. Political career He was born in Kranj in former Yugoslavia (now in Slovenia). He graduate ...
tried to influence EU legislation in exchange for promised money. Both Strasser and Thaler resigned in March 2011. * In March 2012, the paper filmed
Peter Cruddas Peter Andrew Cruddas, Baron Cruddas (born 30 September 1953) is an English banker and businessman. He is the founder of online trading company CMC Markets. In the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List, he was named the richest man in the City of London, ...
, the co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, offering access to David Cameron, the prime minister, in return for donations of £250,000 ($400,000). Cruddas resigned several hours later. Cameron said: "What happened was completely unacceptable. This is not the way we raise money in the Conservative Party." * In September 2012, Jonathan Leake published an article in ''The Sunday Times'' under the headline "Only 100 adult cod in North Sea". This figure was later shown by a BBC article to be wildly incorrect. The newspaper published a correction, apologising for an over simplification in the headline, which had referred to a fall in the number of fully mature cod over the age of 13, thereby indicating this is the breeding age of cod. In fact, as the newspaper subsequently pointed out, cod can start breeding between the ages of four and six, in which case there are many more mature cod in the North Sea. * In January 2013, the seven-times
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
winner
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...
confessed to having used performance-enhancing drugs during each of his Tour victories. The confession ended years of denials about allegations of cheating during most of the cyclist's professional career. ''The Sunday Times'' chief sports writer David Walsh had spent over a decade investigating Armstrong, his team and the systematic doping rife in the sport. The newspaper was forced to pay Armstrong £300,000 in damages in 2006 after he sued it for libel. Following Armstrong's lifelong ban (and subsequent televised confession) ''The Sunday Times'' said it would sue him to recover the damages, plus interest and costs, for the original proceedings which it called "baseless and fraudulent". * In January 2013, ''The Sunday Times'' published a Gerald Scarfe caricature depicting Israel's Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
cementing a wall with blood and Palestinians trapped between the bricks. The cartoon sparked an outcry, compounded by the fact that its publication coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and was condemned by the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
. After Rupert Murdoch tweeted that he considered it a "grotesque, offensive cartoon" and that Scarfe had "never reflected the opinions of ''The Sunday Times''" the newspaper issued an apology. Journalist Ian Burrell, writing in ''The Independent'', described the apology as an "indication of the power of the Israel lobby in challenging critical media coverage of its politicians" and one that questions Rupert Murdoch's assertion that he does not "interfere in the editorial content of his papers". *In June 2014, the Insight team at ''The Sunday Times'' published a front-page story "Plot to buy the World Cup" that detailed how
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
used secret slush funds to make dozens of payments totalling more than $5m to senior officials at
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
to ensure the country won enough votes to secure hosting rights to the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...
. The revelation prompted calls for Qatar to be stripped of hosting the World Cup. The reporting by Jonathan Calvert and Heidi Blake won numerous awards, including the Paul Foot Award. It also formed the basis for the book by Calvert and Blake, 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 publi ...
, ''The Ugly Game''. * In June 2015, ''The Sunday Times'' ran a lead front article titled "British spies betrayed to Russians and Chinese". The article was controversial because it contained numerous unlikely and unsubstantiated claims. Shortly after publication parts of the online version of the article were changed quietly by the newspaper. The article appeared to be an attempt to smear the American Whistleblower
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
, thus fuelling further doubt as to its independent editorship. * In August 2019, ''The Sunday Times'' received the leaked Operation Yellowhammer file about preparations for a No Deal Brexit. *In April 2020, an investigation by ''The Sunday Times'''s ''Insight'' team revealed Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
had skipped five
COBR The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) are meeting rooms in the Cabinet Office in London. These rooms are used for committees which co-ordinate the actions of government bodies in response to national or regional crises, or during overseas ev ...
meetings in the early months of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
. The investigation suggested that the British government underestimated the threat of the virus and failed to adequately prepare, and scrutinised Johnson's leadership during the crisis. It became the most read story in the history of ''The Times''. This, and subsequent investigations into the government's pandemic response, formed the basis of the 2021 book ''
Failures of State ''Failures of State: The Inside Story of Britain's Battle with Coronavirus'' is a 2021 book by George Arbuthnott and Jonathan Calvert about the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The book is adapted from Calvert and Arbuthnott's reporting ...
''.


Phone hacking scandal

In July 2011, ''The Sunday Times'' was implicated in the wider News International phone hacking scandal, which primarily involved the ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one ...
'', a Murdoch tabloid newspaper published in the UK from 1843 to 2011. Former British prime minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...
accused ''The Sunday Times'' of employing "known criminals" to impersonate him and obtain his private financial records. Brown's bank reported that an investigator employed by ''The Sunday Times'' repeatedly impersonated Brown to gain access to his bank account records. ''The Sunday Times'' vigorously denied these accusations and said that the story was in the public interest and that it had followed the
Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...
code on using subterfuge.


Other editions


Irish edition

The Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'' was launched on a small scale on 1993 with just two staff: Alan Ruddock and
John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...
(who started as financial correspondent for the newspaper and is at present acting associate editor). It used the slogan "The English just don't get it". It is now the third biggest-selling newspaper in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
measured in terms of full-price cover sales (Source: ABC Jan–June 2012). Circulation had grown steadily to over 127,000 in the two decades before 2012, but has declined since and currently stands at 60,352 (Jan to Jun 2018). The paper is heavily editionalised, with extensive Irish coverage of politics, general news, business, personal finance, sport, culture and lifestyle. The office employs 25 people. The paper also has a number of well-known freelance columnists including
Brenda Power Brenda Power (born 1962) is an Irish journalist, barrister and a radio and television broadcaster on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and Newstalk. Career Power is a former presenter of ''Crimecall''. Prior to this, she filled in for Maria ...
,
Liam Fay Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these ele ...
, Matt Cooper, Damien Kiberd, Jill Kerby and Stephen Price. However, it ended collaboration with Kevin Myers after he had published a controversial column. The Irish edition has had four editors since it was set up: Alan Ruddock from 1993 until 1996,
Rory Godson Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king" ...
from 1996 until 2000,
Fiona McHugh Fiona McHugh is an Irish journalist and editor. Educated at University College Dublin, where she studied English and philosophy. As a journalist, she worked for The Economist, Bloomberg, and Reuters, before being appointed editor of the Irish e ...
from 2000 to 2005, and from 2005 until 2020 Frank Fitzgibbon.Frank Fitzgibbon stepping down as Sunday Times editor
by Mark Paul, The Irish Times, October 22, 2020.
John Burns is acting editor of the Irish Edition from 2020.


Scottish edition

For more than 20 years the paper has published a separate Scottish edition, which has been edited since January 2012 by Jason Allardyce. While most of the articles that run in the English edition appear in the Scottish edition, its staff also produces about a dozen Scottish news stories, including a front-page article, most weeks. The edition also contains a weekly "Scottish Focus" feature and Scottish commentary, and covers Scottish sport in addition to providing Scottish television schedules. The Scottish issue is the biggest-selling quality newspaper in the market, outselling both ''
Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by JPIMedia and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate '' The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in 20 ...
'' and the '' Sunday Herald''.


Online edition

A free digital edition will be free on Christmas day in 2022 like 2005, 2011 & 2016.


Editors

:1821: Henry White :1822:
Daniel Whittle Harvey Daniel Whittle Harvey (10 January 1786 – 24 February 1863) was a Radical English politician who founded The Sunday Times newspaper and was the first Commissioner of the City of London Police. Harvey trained as a lawyer, and became a Fellow of ...
:1828: Thomas Gaspey :1854: William Carpenter :1856: E. T. Smith :1858: Henry M. Barnett :1864: Joseph Knight and Ashby Sterry (acting editors) :1874: Joseph Hatton :1881: H. W. Oliphant :1887: Phil Robinson :1890: Arthur William à Beckett :1893: Rachel Beer :1901: Leonard Rees :1932: William W. Hadley :1950: Harry Hodson :1961:
Denis Hamilton Lieutenant Colonel Sir Charles Denis Hamilton, DSO, TD (6 December 1918 – 7 April 1988) was an English newspaper editor. He was born in South Shields, County Durham, England, the son of an engineer from the Acklam iron and steel wor ...
:1967: Harold Evans :1981: Frank Giles :1983: Andrew Neil :1995:
John Witherow John Witherow (born 20 January 1952) is a former editor of British newspaper ''The Times''. A former journalist with Reuters, he joined News International (now News UK) in 1980 and was appointed editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in 1994 and edito ...
:2013: Martin Ivens :2020:
Emma Tucker Emma Jane Tucker (born 24 October 1966) is an English journalist. She is editor of ''The Sunday Times'', having succeeded Martin Ivens in January 2020. She is a former deputy editor of ''The Times''. In December 2022, she was named the new editor ...


See also

* * * Mrs Mills Solves all Your Problems * ''The Sunday Times'' Motorshow Live


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunday Times, The 1821 establishments in the United Kingdom Conservative media in the United Kingdom National newspapers published in the United Kingdom News Corporation subsidiaries Publications established in 1821 Sunday newspapers published in the United Kingdom * Ian Charleson Awards