There are moments which are made up of too much stuff for them to be lived at the time they occur.

God is in his Heaven and the first night was a wow.

My definition of a decent society is one that first of all takes care of its losers, and protects its weak.

The Secret Intelligence Service I knew occupied dusky suites of little rooms opposite St James's Park Tube station in London.

We lie to one another every day, in the sweetest way, often unconsciously. We dress ourselves and compose ourselves in order to present ourselves to one another.

The world of spying is my genre. My struggle is to demystify, to de-romanticise the spook world, but at the same time harness it as a good story.

After all, if you make your enemy look like a fool, you lose the justification for engaging him.