John Crace ( ; born 9 October 1956) is a British journalist and critic. He attended

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public ...

. Crace is the parliamentary sketch writer for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', having replaced the late

Simon Hoggart Simon David Hoggart (26 May 1946 – 5 January 2014) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He wrote on politics for ''The Guardian'', and on wine for ''The Spectator''. Until 2006 he presented '' The News Quiz'' on BBC Radio 4. His journal ...

in 2014, and previously also wrote the paper's "Digested Read" column. He is a supporter of

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has play ...

and has written several books on the club. He blogs for ''

ESPN FC ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website and a U.S. television studio program covering soccer that is broadcast daily over the streaming service ESPN+. ESPN FC's origin was a website owned by ESPN Inc. Originally established in 1995 as S ...

'' on Tottenham. According to his columns, he is an enthusiastic collector of ceramic pots. Writing in 2019, Crace described his "

cold turkey "Cold turkey" refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication. Sudden withdrawal from dru ...

" rehabilitation from heroin addiction 32 years previously. In July 2019 ''The Guardian'' retracted statements by Crace implying that journalist

Isabel Oakeshott Isabel Euphemia Oakeshott (born 12 June 1974) is a British political journalist and broadcaster. She was the political editor of ''The Sunday Times'' and is the co-author, with Michael Ashcroft, of an unauthorised biography of former British ...

had obtained confidential files by sleeping with

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...

and

Arron Banks Arron Fraser Andrew Banks (born 1966) is a British businessman and political donor. He is the co-founder (with Richard Tice) of the Leave.EU campaign. Banks was previously one of the largest donors to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and helpe ...

. His article included the claim that Oakeshott only got confidential emails if Farage and Banks "slips it to her". Following the threat of legal action by Oakeshott, the text was amended to: "leave it conveniently tucked under her pillow". This second revision was then removed, with the final version stating: "if he or Arron Banks leave it conveniently to one side for her". Oakeshott stated: "It gives me great pleasure to teach ⁦John Crace⁩ and ''The ⁦Guardian'' a little lesson about casually slurring women whose politics they dislike".

Bibliography

*'' Wasim and Waqar: Imran's Inheritors'' (1992) *''The Digested Read'' (2005) *''Vertigo: Spurs, Bale and One Fan's Fear of Success'' (2011) *''Brideshead Abbreviated: The Digested Read of the Twentieth Century'' (2012) *''Harry's Games: Inside the Mind of

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In h ...

'' (2013) *''The Digested Twenty-first Century'' (2014) * * * ''A Farewell to Calm''. Guardian Faber. 2021. ISBN 978-1783352449.

References

External links

*
Column archive
at ''

''
"The Digested Read"Journalisted – Articles by John Crace
* Living people Alumni of the University of Exeter British male journalists British sportswriters The Guardian journalists 1956 births {{UK-journalist-stub