Anthony Seldon interviewed Simon McDonald

Historian of Number 10 Downing Street Sir Anthony Seldon talks about his bestselling book on Boris Johnson’s period as prime minister during one of the most turbulent times in modern British history.

Seldon interviewed more than 200 aides, allies and insiders to build his account of Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament, his landslide election win, the Brexit agreement and the cruises that engulfed his government including Covid-19, partygate, the Afghanistan debacle and the Ukriane war. Seldon sheds new light on the most divisive prime minister since Thatcher.

‘An authoritative, gripping and often jaw-dropping account of the bedlam behind the black door of Number 10’ Andrew Rawnsley, Observer

Seldon is an authority on contemporary British history and a former master of Wellington College. He has written more than 40 books including Blair; May at 10; Brown at 10; Cameron at 10; and The Impossible Office, which he discusses at another festival event. Here he talks to Baron Simon McDonald, a former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office and head of the Diplomatic Service during the Cameron, May and Johnson years. McDonald hit the headlines over the summer after he accused Boris Johnson’s number 10 office of lying when it said it was not aware of the former whip Christopher Pincher’s sexual misconduct, an issue that led to the end of Johnson’s time in office. He will be speaking about his book Beyond Britannia: Reshaping UK Foreign Policy on Wednesday at 6pm.