Sir Simon Jenkins (born June 10 1943) is a British newspaper columnist currently associated with The Guardian after fifteen years with News International titles. He was educated at Mill Hill School and St John's College, Oxford.

A former editor of The Times newspaper, he received a knighthood for services to journalism in the 2004 New Year honours. Among his many other awards, he was named What the Papers Say Journalist of the Year in 1998. He also holds an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Jenkins lives in London with his wife, the American-born actress, Gayle Hunnicutt. They have one son, and his step-son is Nolan Hemmings (Lady Jenkins's son from her previous marriage to David Hemmings).

Career

Jenkins started his career at Country Life magazine, then moved to the Times Educational Supplement and from there to the Evening Standard, before editing the Insight page of The Sunday Times.

He was editor of the London Evening Standard from 1976-78, and then political editor of The Economist magazine from 1979-86. After founding and editing The Sunday Times Books section, he was editor of The Times from 1990-92.http://www.hfea.gov.uk/AboutHFEA/HFEAMembers/SirSimonJenkins On 28 January, 2005, he announced he was leaving The Times and he joined The Guardian that summer after a break to write a bookhttp://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,1400219,00.html.

In 1994, he wrote a widely criticised piece for The Times, berating the award of the Booker Prize to Glaswegian novelist James Kelman. Jenkins sets himself up as a defender of Standard English, and in the following passage sounds exactly like the conservative linguist John Honey of 'Standard English and its Enemies':

"This year it was unpleasant. I am glad Mr Kelman is a cultural pluralist. We have that in common. I too believe in the right to culture and language, which in my case is what he calls "colonial" Standard English. I believe something more. If it comes to war my English will win as long as Mr Kelman and the Booker judges are in the enemy camp." ('An expletive of a winner', The Times, Oct 15, 1994)

More recently he has been defending the right to language varieties in political discourse, so seems to have done a thorough volte face on the issue of Standard Language since 1994:

"The rudeness that ^* Livingstone treats as a normal speech pattern is deplored out of a reasonable concern for the feelings of others. But the reaction to it suggests that communal self-confidence is crumbling and dialogue is in retreat. Groups seek protection behind an Orwellian wall of verbal censorship. Livingstone should plainly guard his tongue, but not altogether his language. When politicians stop talking like ordinary people they stop being democrats and become oligarchs." (The Guardian, Mar 31, 2006, p. 32)

He has also written glowingly about Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of her birthday (see Sunday Times, Apr 16, 2006. p. 16).

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

He was voted Journalist of the Year in 1988 and Columnist of the Year in 1993.

Other activities

Jenkins has knowledge of architecture and has written books about England's churches and country houses. He presented the Channel 4 series based on his own book, England's Thousand Best Churches.

In addition to his journalism, Jenkins has served as:

• a board member of British Rail (1979-90)
• board member of London Transport (1984-86)
• deputy chairman of English Heritage (1985-90).
• member of Britain's Millennium Commission (1994-2000)
• Chair of the Independent Commission on Local Democracy (1994-5)
• Chairman of the Buildings Book Trust, which sponsors Pevsner's Buildings of England guidebooks.
• Member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)

Partial Works

• Jenkins, Simon (2005) (untitled — politics) Allen Lane, ISBN 0713995955
• Jenkins, Simon (2003) England's Thousand Best Houses Allen Lane, ISBN 0713995963
• Jenkins, Simon (1999) England's Thousand Best Churches Allen Lane, ISBN 0713992816
• Jenkins, Simon (1995) Accountable to None: Tory Nationalization of Britain Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0241135915
• Jenkins, Simon (1994) Against the Grain John Murray, ISBN 0719555701
• Hastings, Max and Simon Jenkins (1992) Battle for the Falklands M Joseph, ISBN 0718125789
• Jenkins, Simon (1993) The Selling of Mary Davies and Other Writings John Murray, ISBN 0719552982
• edited by Simon Jenkins and Robert Ilson (1992) "The Times" English Style and Usage Guide Times Books ISBN 0723003963
• Jenkins, Simon (1986) The Market for Glory: Fleet Street Ownership in the Twentieth Century Faber and Faber, ISBN 0571146279
• Jenkins, Simon, Anne Sloman (1985) With Respect, Ambassador: Enquiry into the Foreign Office BBC, ISBN 0563203293
• Jenkins, Simon and Andrew Graham-Yooll (1983) Imperial Skirmishes: War And Gunboat Diplomacy In Latin America Diane Publishing, ISBN 0756774683
• Jenkins, Simon (1981) Newspapers Through the Looking-glass Manchester Statistical Society, ISBN 0853360588
• Jenkins, Simon (1979) Newspapers: The Power and the Money Faber, ISBN 0571114687
• Jenkins, Simon (1975) Landlords to London: Story of a Capital and Its Growth Constable, ISBN 009460150X
• Jenkins, Simon (1971) Here to Live: Study of Race Relations in an English Town Runnymede Trust ISBN 0902397125
• Jenkins, Simon (1969) Education and Labour's Axe Bow Pubns., ISBN 0900182792

External links

• Channel 4 History — England's Thousand Best Churches official programme site
• biography from the BBC Charter Review

1943 births | Living people | British journalists | British newspaper editors | The Times people | Old Millhillians | Knights Bachelor | Former students of St John's College, Oxford | Guardian journalists

Simon Jenkins