Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 14, 1955 London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Author, journalist |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | Defence editor for The Daily Telegraph |
Con Coughlin (born 14 January 1955) is a British author and journalist, currently serving as the defence editor for The Daily Telegraph.
Early life
Born in London, England, in 1955, Coughlin pursued Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he concentrated on the Industrial Revolution under the guidance of historian Simon Schama.
Journalistic career
Coughlin began his journalism career in August 1977 by joining the Thomson Regional Newspapers graduate trainee scheme, undergoing training in Cardiff before reporting for the Reading Evening Post. He moved to The Daily Telegraph in November 1980 as a general news reporter and has spent the majority of his career within Telegraph Media Group.
Among his early reporting assignments were significant crime events such as the arrest of Peter Sutcliffe (known as the Yorkshire Ripper) and coverage of the Brixton riots.
His role as a foreign correspondent commenced with covering the United States invasion of Grenada in 1983. Subsequently, he reported from Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, concentrating on Middle Eastern affairs and international terrorism. Following the acquisition of the Telegraph group by Canadian entrepreneur Conrad Black in 1985, editor Max Hastings appointed Coughlin as Middle East correspondent.
He founded the newspaper’s Jerusalem bureau and reported extensively on regional developments over a three-year period. In April 1986, he narrowly escaped an abduction attempt by Hezbollah militants in Beirut, occurring just one day prior to the kidnapping of British journalist John McCarthy. Returning to London in 1989, Coughlin joined The Sunday Telegraph as chief foreign correspondent. He was promoted to Foreign Editor in 1997 and Executive Editor in 1999. Under his editorial leadership, The Sunday Telegraph was awarded "newspaper of the year" at the British Press Awards in 2000.
Coughlin has provided analysis on foreign affairs for American television networks including CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and NBC. In the UK, he frequently appears on broadcasts for both the BBC and Sky News.
After a brief tenure at the Daily Mail, he returned to The Daily Telegraph in 2006 as defence and security editor, later advancing to executive foreign editor. He authors the weekly column "Inside Abroad," which addresses defence, security, Middle Eastern issues, and terrorism topics, alongside maintaining a blog hosted on the Telegraph website.
Author
Coughlin has published multiple books, starting with Hostage: The Complete Story of the Lebanon Captives (Little, Brown 1992). His analysis of Jerusalem politics in A Golden Basin Full of Scorpions earned commendations from BBC journalist John Simpson and writer A. N. Wilson.
In 2002, he released a biography focused on Saddam Hussein. The American edition titled Saddam: King of Terror (ECCO) became a bestseller according to The New York Times in 2003 and garnered widespread international recognition.
His 2006 publication, American Ally: Tony Blair and the War on Terror (ECCO), was shortlisted among Kirkus Reviews’ notable books of that year. In 2009, Coughlin authored Khomeini's Ghost (Macmillan and ECCO), exploring Ayatollah Khomeini’s role in shaping Islamic radicalism. While historian Dominic Sandbrook regarded it as an accessible introduction with thoughtful treatment, some reviewers—including Iranian-American journalist Azadeh Moaveni—questioned its factual accuracy.
In 2014, Thomas Dunne Books issued Coughlin’s work Churchill's First War: Young Winston at War with the Afghans.
Additionally, he contributes regularly to esteemed outlets such as The Spectator, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic Monthly.
Gaddafi legal dispute
In April 2002, Telegraph Newspapers issued an apology concerning a libel case involving Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. An article by Coughlin published in The Sunday Telegraph in November 1995 had accused Saif al-Islam Gaddafi of participating in a significant criminal enterprise with Iranian officials, centered on counterfeit currency and money laundering activities across Europe. These claims were reportedly based on intelligence from British security and financial sources. Gaddafi responded by serving the newspaper with a libel writ. The article was published shortly after a luncheon hosted by Malcolm Rifkind, who was then Foreign Secretary, which was attended by editor Charles Moore and included briefings from unidentified MI6 agents.
A Court of Appeal hearing in 1998 affirmed the journalists' right to publish under the principles of Qualified privilege and the Reynolds Defence. The primary lawsuit in 2002 was defended by the Telegraph Group and ultimately resolved out of court without any damages awarded, with each party bearing its own legal expenses. Geoffrey Robertson QC, representing the Telegraph Group, declared that "there was no truth in the allegation that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi participated in any currency sting."
Habbush memorandum
Towards the end of 2003, Coughlin disclosed a leaked intelligence document allegedly discovered by Iraq’s interim government. This memorandum purportedly detailed a meeting between Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, and Iraqi intelligence operatives during Saddam Hussein’s rule. The note was said to have been authored by Iraqi security chief General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti and addressed to Iraq’s president. However, American officials disputed the existence of such a connection.
The story published in The Daily Telegraph found support among several conservative American commentators, including Deroy Murdock and William Safire.
Turkey
In 2010, Coughlin claimed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had arranged a deal with Iran involving a $25 million contribution to Turkey's ruling party election funds. The Turkish authorities vehemently denied these accusations, demanded the article be retracted, and sought an apology for what they described as unfounded allegations.
The Daily Telegraph was unsuccessful in defending against Erdoğan’s libel suit filed in the UK. Erdoğan was awarded "a substantial sum" in damages, accompanied by a formal apology published by the newspaper.
Regarding civil liberties of terrorism suspects
In April 2009, writing for The Daily Telegraph, Coughlin contended that severe interrogation techniques such as waterboarding could be justified if they potentially save lives. He framed this as a moral quandary balancing human rights against the imperative to prevent terrorist attacks. He maintained support for these methods in subsequent articles, including one following a London bombing alert.
On China
In March 2020, Coughlin criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for corruption and failing both its citizens and international responsibilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By April 2020, he advocated for treating China as an adversarial state due to its lack of openness and alleged disinformation campaigns aimed at avoiding accountability for the global health emergency.