Robin Ramsay (born 1948) is a Scottish

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and co-founder and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the magazine ''

Lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

''. Ramsay writes about politics and conspiracy theories. His books have been published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

and Pocket Essentials. His writings have resulted in him receiving death threats from the fascist group

Combat 18 Combat 18 (C18 or 318) is a neo-Nazi terrorist organisation that was founded in 1992. It originated in the United Kingdom with ties to movements in Canada and the United States. Since then, it has spread to other countries, including Germany. C ...

. The eldest child of a food chemist father and housewife mother. Ramsay was born in Edinburgh and studied at

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

but left after a term and moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He later graduated from

Hull University The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. During his time at Hull, he became interested in the

John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...

. While investigating the case, Ramsay met fellow Kennedy assassination enthusiast

Stephen Dorril Stephen Dorril (born 17 July 1955)Dorril, Stephen is a British academic, author, and journalist. He is a former senior lecturer in the journalism department of Huddersfield University and ex-director of the university's Oral History Unit. His ...

. Together they started a magazine about the influence of intelligence and security services on politics, ''

'', in September 1983. Ramsay also draws on his research and writes a regular monthly column in the ''

Fortean Times ''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (from 2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (from ...

''.

Conspiracy theories

Although Ramsay's magazine ''Lobster'' includes articles on conspiracy theories, and he has written a book on the subject,

Gareth McLean Gareth McLean (born c.1975) is a Scottish journalist and screenwriter who has written for ''The Guardian'' newspaper and on soap operas for the ''Radio Times'' magazine. McLean graduated with an MA (Hons) in English from the University of Aberde ...

(writing in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' newspaper) says that Ramsay "hates conspiracy theories", quoting him as saying "The term 'conspiracy theory' is used by various intellectual establishments to dismiss people like me. It's irritating but there's nothing you can do about it."

Personal

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' journalist

Robert McCrum John Robert McCrum (born 7 July 1953) is an English writer and editor who held senior editorial positions at Faber & Faber over seventeen years, followed by a long association with ''The Observer''. Early life and education The son of Mich ...

in 1991 described Ramsay as "an extrovert, fast-talking Scot with jack-of-all-trades experience in alternative journalism, jazz music and the theatre". In July 1988, Ramsay made an extended appearance on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

discussion programme '' After Dark'', alongside

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1 ...

, H. Montgomery Hyde and others.Production company website
/ref>

Published books

*''Smear: Wilson and the Secret State'' (1992)

, (co-authored with Stephen Dorril) *''Prawn Cocktail Party: The Hidden Power of New Labour'' (1998) Vision Paperbacks, *''New Labour'' (2002) Pocket Essentials, *''Conspiracy Theories'' (2006) Pocket Essentials, *''Politics and Paranoia'' (2008) Picnic Publishing *''Who Shot JFK?'' (2nd ed. 2009) Pocket Essentials,

Articles

*Robin Ramsay,
The Gemstone File
, ''International Times'', Vol.4, Number 11, 1978, retrieved 17 August 2012

Bibliography

*"Sexed-up files, lies and surveillance tapes ... One man's search to uncover what lies beneath", ''Hull Daily Mail'', 13 July 2007 Friday, page 10 *"Shock Lobster", ''Sunday Herald'', 17 August 2003

References

External links

Lobster magazine homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Robin 1948 births Living people Writers from Edinburgh Fortean writers Scottish journalists Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Hull