Nick Harris: Olympic chiefs told athletes to cash in and charge £10,000 for appearances
Peter Wilson has revealed Britain’s gold medallists at London 2012 were advised by their Olympic bosses to cash in on their fame by charging up to £10,000 a time for appearances. ...read
LISA BUCKINGHAM: Interest-only mortgages are NOT a scandal
There is little evidence that anyone was misled or ignorant of the risks they were taking, which is why calls for ‘mortgage mis-selling compensation’ are so worrying. ...read
DAN ATKINSON: Our wealth is as flimsy as our products
Official statistics recognise when we pay less for more, but not when we pay more for less. This means that we are almost certainly understating inflation. ...read
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Don't let banks axe vital basic accounts
Basic bank accounts are not the most glamorous of financial products. But they offer an essential financial lifeline to more than eight million customers who otherwise might not have a current account. ...read
TONY HETHERINGTON: Blundering taxman hounds cancer victim
Last year we did not receive a tax return, and assumed that as the Revenue were fully aware of our financial situation, we need not worry. But now we are being told we owe penalties of more than £600. ...read
CRAIG BROWN BOOK OF THE WEEK: Brian Sewell is the connoisseur with a flame thrower
In his second volume of autobiography, the waspish art critic Brian Sewell makes sure that his acknowledgements go with a bang, writes CRAIG BROWN. ...read
THE INSIDER: Our building - one of the strongest in America - was shaking and rattling like a cupboard full of steel skeletons
In that moment, it was clear that Sandy was going to be on a different scale to any weather-related episode I’d ever been through before. ...read
IAN HYLAND: All the young dudes: You're fired!
Shrewd economist Alan Sugar was surely aware that the law of diminishing returns always decreed this junior version would eventually impact on the main show. ...read
TOM PARKER BOWLES: The bill, please: Sublime and richly scented... it's time to stand up for duck
They add heart to the cassoulet’s Gallic heft, and become impossibly seductive when transformed into rillettes and spread on hot toast. ...read
CHRIS EVANS: Cheers set off alarm bells. Sure, I don't get drunk any more. But I do still have the bar
Someone deep within the broadcasting behemoth came up with the idea of running every single episode of the show ever filmed. ...read
JAMES MARTIN: I've bought the gear and learned how to play but what will they say at the golf club when I turn up with a topless model?
Volkswagen’s current 2.0-litre four-pot is a peach of an engine, and in the GTI it loves to rev, so you get a very fast response whenever you put your foot down. ...read
OLLY SMITH: Uncork a real firecracker
With smoke in the air and fireworks crackling overhead, and the bonfire blazing, we should embrace reds with spicy warmth and a few intensely flavoured whites. ...read
James Anderson: Pietersen's back? No problem for this England dressing room
To be honest, no one really knew how Kevin Pietersen's reintegration into the team environment was going to work. ...read
Obama campaign defends his comment to voters to get 'revenge', saying it was in response to Republican 'lies' about people losing their jobs
Aides to Barack Obama are defending his remark that ‘voting is the best revenge’ by saying it was made in the context of Mitt Romney’s ads about Jeep jobs - even though the transcript shows the president had not mentioned the ads. ...read
JAMES FORSYTH: David Cameron is ready to rip into the EU... in 2015
Hours before the House of Commons vote on the EU budget, David Cameron met his party's most senior backbencher, Graham Brady. ...read
Romney claims he is the real candidate of change as he begins 'closing argument'
TOBY HARNDEN: Mitt Romney today promised he was the real candidate of change and hit out at Obama claiming it can't be measured by 'speeches, but by achievements'. ...read
Obama wipes out Romney lead in polls with superstorm boost - but will continued scenes of suffering come back to haunt him?
TOBY HARNDEN: The race for the White House is all tied up nationally with both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on 49 per cent after the president received a small boost after Hurricane Sandy. ...read
ALEX BRUMMER: Royal Bank of Scotland is haunted by Fred Goodwin's ghost
What the disastrous past tells us is that the hardest thing for RBS and other banks to regain will be the trust and confidence of the public. ...read
Des Kelly: No Chelsea player heard Terry abuse Ferdinand... now they're blessed with the hearing of a piano tuner
Listen and you might be able to hear the sound of Chelsea’s credibility crashing down around their ears. ...read
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Cameron must end the push-me-pull-you act
Conservatives and Liberals are at daggers drawn over the central task that was supposed to unite them: pulling us out of the most dire debt crisis in our peacetime history. ...read
A.N. WILSON: How the torrid Tudors saved the sanity of the genius who makes history sexier than Fifty Shades of Grey
Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker prize twice, and she's probably sold more copies of her books than most Man Booker winners added together, writes A.N. WILSON. ...read
ALEX BRUMMER: Royal Bank of Scotland is haunted by Fred Goodwin's ghost
What the disastrous past tells us is that the hardest thing for RBS and other banks to regain will be the trust and confidence of the public. ...read
The real hate crime is persecuting a decent man for his beliefs
AMANDA PLATELL: Adrian Smith's only crime was writing on Facebook that he thought civil partnership ceremonies in church were ‘an equality too far’. ...read
Compassion? More like cold calculation
ANDREW ALEXANDER: We are going through a bad period of misleading and meaningless catchphrases designed to confuse voters. ...read
Miliband the elder rakes in £500,000
ANDREW PIERCE: Miliband, who was narrowly beaten to the leadership by his younger brother Ed, has trousered more than £500,000 in the past 12 months in addition to his £65,000 MP’s salary. ...read
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Cameron must end the push-me-pull-you act
Conservatives and Liberals are at daggers drawn over the central task that was supposed to unite them: pulling us out of the most dire debt crisis in our peacetime history. ...read
EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Is George Osborne 'opportunistic and unprincipled'?
Before he starts criticising his party's record in opposition, Osborne should remember he was William Hague’s disciple/bag carrier at the time. ...read
The Niger rower who's actually getting slower! JANE FRYER meets the star of London 2012 who doesn't care that he keeps coming last
He may have limped home in last place in every race he's taken part in at the Olympics, but rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka's achievements have made him a national hero in his native Niger. ...read
Forget the storm. The real dangers facing America are hatred, division and a collapsing political system
Americans have always taken pride in their political system. Now, says MAX HASTINGS, the constitution created in 1776 is cracking open at the seams. ...read
The medical profession's lethal arrogance over the Liverpool Care Pathway
MELANIE PHILLIPS' article provoked many letters from families such as Patricia Greenwood's (pictured). But the response from doctors, bitterly denouncing her, was even more chilling. ...read
A lion on the loose in Essex: Teddy the tubby cat, and the interesting science of phantom beasts
MICHAEL HANLON: It's always a tabby cat. That's the rule. Or, sometimes, a spaniel. While the science of phantom cats is strange it says nothing about cats but says an awful lot about humans. ...read
Has Dave the guts to take on Patten?
PETER MCKAY: The Government is nervous about the BBC clearing up its own mess. But why does the Prime Minister resist an independent inquiry? Perhaps because he chose Patten to head the BBC Trust. ...read
How radio star faced the music in Africa
Classical music presenter Petroc Trelawny (pictured) has been speaking about his incarceration this summer in a Zimbabwean police cell, writes QUENTIN LETTS. ...read
RICHARD KAY: Earl Spencer: My father never got over divorce
Twenty years after the death of a parent is often a time for reflection. It certainly seems the case for Charles Spencer (pictured), whose father Johnnie died in 1992. ...read
Welcome to London's hottest new nightspot - the Life On Mars lounge at The Yard
Rather than sell Scotland Yard, RICHARD LITTLEJOHN suggests the Met turn it into a theme park-style hotel, drawing on the rich traditions of British policing. ...read
'Some time the hating has to stop': A tortured war hero, his Japanese tormentor, and the redeeming power of forgiveness
Nearly 50 years after his torture as a PoW at the hands of a Japanese officer, Eric Lomax (pictured) not only tracked down his tormentor - he met him, befriended him and forgave him. ...read
The sharpest tongue in the West: The waspish wit and elegant controversy of Gore Vidal
ROY HATTERSLEY: Gore Vidal was entitled to claim that he was the wittiest and most elegant writer of his time. And claim it he often did. For modesty was not his principal virtue. ...read
The tragedy of Britain is the lack of a governing class brave enough to make big decisions
Lord Heseltine's report makes STEPHEN GLOVER wonder how a 'pro-business' government can find itself behaving in a way that is so inimical to this country’s long-term interests. ...read
Obama campaign defends his comment to voters to get 'revenge', saying it was in response to Republican 'lies' about people losing their jobs
Aides to Barack Obama are defending his remark that ‘voting is the best revenge’ by saying it was made in the context of Mitt Romney’s ads about Jeep jobs - even though the transcript shows the president had not mentioned the ads. ...read
The tide has turned against Europe's dictatorial arrogance. Mr Cameron can swim with it - and be a hero - or go under
TOM UTLEY says this defeat for Mr Cameron may also turn out to have been the moment when Labour and the Tory rebels handed him his best possible chance of winning the next election. ...read
Andy Townsend: Carroll power is key to England victory
I fancy England strongly and I'm certain they will win if Andy Carroll is involved. Having watched all of Italy's matches in this championship, I feel they are all over the place at the back. ...read
Ben Kay: Johnson comes to the fore but England will be disappointed
England should be kicking themselves for failing to gain a victory from a tough three-match series. Yes, a draw would have been acclaimed by previous tour parties, but for this young squad it will be judged a disappointment. ...read
Brad Gilbert: Go get him, Andy! Murray must slug it out against explosive Berdych
Often in the past when he gets to the semi-final it’s the case that he has looked the best player to that point in that tournament but then does not manage to produce his best. This fortnight, however, he has been more up and down than I can remember in any Grand Slam. ...read
Charles Sale: Silent Stan finally makes it back into the Arsenal stands
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is expected — over four days this week — to double the number of times he has watched the team play since his takeover 17 months ago. ...read
Chris Foy: Six injured and counting, Lancaster needs stability
It was all going so well. Too well, as it turns out. This time last week, England head coach Stuart Lancaster could look ahead to the QBE Internationals with hope, founded on the fact that most of his leading players were available. ...read
Clinton McKenzie: A pay day, but no pride for Britain as Haye's downfall is complete
In 2010, David Haye was heralded as the ‘Lord of the Ring’ by Sky Sports. It seemed he was the answer to all the ills of British boxing. So how has it come to this? ...read
Northern Exposure: Wear-Tees derby may not be as mad as the big one but there's all to play for
You wait for one North East derby to come, and then two come along at the same time. Sunderland come up against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night in the Capital One Cup. ...read
Exclusive: It's my job to set the standard, says Team GB athletics captain Greene
Malcolm Arnold, my coach, took a call in April while I was away at our training camp in Portugal. He said Charles van Commenee had rung him and that I should ring him back about something quite important. ...read
Daley Thompson: Despicable cheat Armstrong has shattered dreams and ruined his sport
We all want to believe that some people can fly. That’s why we love sport. But Lance Armstrong has shattered that illusion. He has cheated sport - not just cycling. ...read
Bumble's guide to Twenty20 Finals day: Yorkshire v Sussex, Somerset v Hampshire
It's that time again! It is the first Twenty20 finals day in Wales on Saturday - Yorkshire play Sussex at 11am, then Somerset take on Hampshire at 2.30pm with the winners going head-to-head in the final at 6.45. Cardiff is always rocking on weekends... I can’t wait! ...read
Derek Lawrenson: HSBC Championship shows golf faces hurricane alert over fees
For this year's HSBC Champions, which begins on Thursday with a £4.6m prize fund, the list of absentees includes Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. How would you feel if you were the sponsor? ...read
Des Kelly: No Chelsea player heard Terry abuse Ferdinand... now they're blessed with the hearing of a piano tuner
Listen and you might be able to hear the sound of Chelsea’s credibility crashing down around their ears. ...read
Mersey Beat: Rodgers must overcome the curse of Goodison Park
The Merseyside derby. A game to stir the emotions, a collision that generates national fascination but a fixture that, for new Liverpool managers heading to Goodison Park, have proven to be nothing short of a nightmare. ...read
Gary Neville: Why both Chelsea and Manchester United would accept a 1-0 win at the Bridge
In my years as a Manchester United player, people would talk to me about the epic 5-3 or 8-2 victories. But the truth is, exhilarating as those games were, it is those 1-0 wins that mean the most. ...read
George North: Just my luck, one carry, a double hit and a dead leg... it's agony
I feel like I've spent my entire week in ice. You can see the bruises where I caught a knee and a shoulder on my right quad - two for the price of one. ...read
Graham Poll's expert guide to the refs in charge for this weekend's big games
What a week it has been and thank goodness for the return of the Premier League games to hopefully allow us to enjoy some more absorbing action on the pitch. ...read
James Anderson: Pietersen's back? No problem for this England dressing room
To be honest, no one really knew how Kevin Pietersen's reintegration into the team environment was going to work. ...read
Jamie Redknapp: What are Arsenal thinking about letting Walcott go? He could play through the middle but I'd keep him wide
Sportsmail's columnist and former England midfielder believes Arsenal are crazy to not have agreed a new contract for Theo Walcott. Jamie describes Walcott's performance against Reading last night as 'dazzling'. ...read
Jeff Powell: Steward is gone but Hearns will fight for The Kronk to live on
They were taking down the garish red and gold sign over what would soon look like any other window-barred shop front on the mean streets of downtown Detroit. ...read
Laura Williamson: After Twenty20 World Cup we must now start taking women's cricket seriously
In Sri Lanka, which just hosted the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, it apparently costs £62 a day for a man to live but only £37 for a woman. This isn't anything to do with the prize money. ...read
The Top Spin: England's batsmen show they are still struggling to get to grips with spin
Sunday's events in Colombo were a cruel reminder that you haven’t captained England until you've had to explain away an inept performance against spin in Asia. ...read
Captain's Log: Frankie laying low at the Breeders' Cup
Frankie Dettori has made sure he has not been in a position to be pinned down by any awkward questions about his recent split from Sheik Mohammed’s Godolphin operation. ...read
Mark Hughes: It's best Barton moves on... but let's focus on our 10 new signings
We have signed a few players. It might look like a scattergun approach but it's not. We've done our homework, we are not just collecting players. ...read
Edge of the Box: NFL is a BIG story... but one we've heard many times before
The mothership has landed. Strange creatures, many the size of your average garden shed, emerge in their battle armour. They speak with strange voices, but are all of one mind. ...read
Premier League Bootroom: Running short of clean sheets as defences leak
It pains me to say it as a defender but it seems that keeping clean sheets is becoming a lost art. There have been only 41 clean sheets in the 89 games so far. ...read
Martin Samuel: Thinking football? I fear for England when we're always dumbing down
How does the standard inquest into the state of English football go again? We haven’t got a player like Andres Iniesta. We haven't got an Andrea Pirlo. Oh, woe is us. Well, we haven't got the best player in Armenia either. ...read
The Matt Lawton Interview: Podolski: I moved to Arsenal to fight for Premier League titles
Lukas Podolski delivers a candid assessment of his performances thus far at Arsenal. ‘It is too early to say “Podolski is a hero”,’ he says. ‘After only five or six games you cannot say “he’s the best player and Arsenal are great”. I don’t like this. ...read
All England Club can't find members who saw Bunny's big day
The All England Club were trying to think this week of any surviving members who may have witnessed Bunny Austin's final in 1938, but there are none. ...read
Nasser Hussain: England squad will only move on if KP proves he's a team player
The truth is that Kevin Pietersen has been a difficult character to handle for a couple of years now, a bit of an idiot, and it all came to a head this summer. ...read
Ash Wednesday: Crystal clear why Arsenal have joined hunt for Palace superstar Zaha
Arsenal are a little bit late to the party when it comes to Wilfried Zaha, only putting their marker down in the last few weeks with their constant presence at Crystal Palace matches. They have arrived at just the right time. ...read
The Midlander: Coventry can begin to paint rosy future with morale-boosting Wembley run
News that Coventry City have been installed as second favourites to lift the Johnstone's Paint Trophy probably passed by without too much notice. ...read
Nick Harris: Olympic chiefs told athletes to cash in and charge £10,000 for appearances
Peter Wilson has revealed Britain’s gold medallists at London 2012 were advised by their Olympic bosses to cash in on their fame by charging up to £10,000 a time for appearances. ...read
Oscar Pistorius: Jonnie's got the world record... he must be doing something right!
Any 100 metres final is always one of the blue riband events of an athletics meeting and the T44 100m is going to be really quick. Sprinting is so much faster than in 2004. ...read
Patrick Collins: Wilshere is back in action - the miracles will follow
The romantics had written the story long before a ball was kicked. Arsenal were on the ropes; the team had suffered successive home defeats and the shareholders had staged their annual strop. ...read
World of Cricket: Hales looks the part but can he turn it on against spin kings?
Let us get one thing straight. It will be a lot harder for England to defend their World Twenty20 crown without Kevin Pietersen in Sri Lanka next month. There is no point us dwelling on that, should things start going wrong. ...read
THE INSIDER: Carroll holds up Liverpool bid for Llorente as Sunderland eye loan move for Rose
Simon Jones is Sportsmail's man on the inside of all the major transfer moves this summer. Don't miss your daily Insider instalment here for Thursday, August 30. ...read
Stuart Broad: Losing Strauss means all the England players have to step up
It was a complete shock when Andrew Strauss called me on Tuesday to say he was retiring. I just didn’t see that one coming. ...read
Seconds out! It's the Queen versus Mrs Thatcher in new play about Her Majesty's meetings with Prime Ministers
Helen Mirren, in her Queen guise, will have a 'tempestuous relationship' with Haydn Gwynne, pictured, in new play The Audience, which is written by Peter Morgan. ...read
BEL MOONEY: My prudish husband has left me because I lied about my sex life
This week, BEL MOONEY advises a woman whose husband has walked out after deciding their 40-year relationship was based on a lie. ...read
Jan Moir: Heidi Klum and Louise Redknapp go make-up free for charity? Pious hogwash! It's just another way for celebs to say, 'look, I'm better and more beautiful than you!'
Haven’t we reached glutinous overload with such gratuitously self-serving campaigns? ...read
Janet Street-Porter: Relax! My Generation needn't be so anxious
My generation, by Pete Townshend was the anthem of the Sixties for millions of teenagers, with the killer line: 'I hope I die before I get old.' How many times must I have sung it? ...read
Ditch the dungarees, it’s time feminism slipped into something sexy
KATE REARDON: The Supreme Court last week ruled that if a woman has been paid less than a man for any equivalent job in the past six years she could bring a claim. ...read
Mary Berry's recipe for style: Never mind her baking, her jazzy dress sense at 77 is causing a stir. LIZ JONES got an exclusive peek into her wardrobe
It seems that Mary has not only been reigniting our love affair with baking, she's been forging the way for older women to emerge from their black-clad doldrums. ...read
LORRAINE CANDY: My daughter got chicken pox and it made us about as welcome as a pack of repellent zombies
Chicken pox parties used to be the dernier cri in parenting circles, but as Lorraine Candy found out, there's been a sea change in people's attitudes. ...read
ROWAN PELLING'S SEX ADVICE COLUMN: Will this man ever leave his sick girlfriend for me?
I've met a new man but after a few nights together, he admitted he has a girlfriend - but she's depressed and he wants to leave. What should I do? ...read
Better a Posh and Becks style wedding than none at all
SANDRA PARSONS: The Church of England aims to double the number of church weddings by adopting a more flexible approach. ...read
DR ELLIE CANNON: It's heartbreaking to tell a parent that their child has leukaemia, but it can be beaten
Mamma Mia! actress Julie Walters was devastated when her daughter Maisie (pictured with her mother) was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of two. ...read
Ask the doctor: Will this stomach pain ever go away?
Here DR MARTIN SCURR advises readers how to deal with diverticulitis and migraines, plus why the NHS shouldn't be bribing doctors. ...read
ANDREW OXLADE: Hargreaves Lansdown cuts the cost of investing - but it's not nearly enough
I must applaud the decision by Hargreaves Lansdown, which has more than 400,000 DIY investment customers, to reduce its annual charge. But sadly, the price cuts don't get anywhere near far enough. ...read
DAN ATKINSON: Our wealth is as flimsy as our products
Official statistics recognise when we pay less for more, but not when we pay more for less. This means that we are almost certainly understating inflation. ...read
ED MONK: Are you a contributor to (or a burden on) the nation's finances?
New analysis from a political think-tank makes uncomfortable reading for many in the 'squeezed middle' who assume that it is they who have been forced to bear the burden of balancing the nation's finances. ...read
JAMES CONEY: A generation in peril...older homeowners who spent their life renting from the bank
Up and down the country, homeowners in their 50s, 60s and 70s are falling behind on their mortgage repayments and struggling to make ends meet. ...read
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Don't let banks axe vital basic accounts
Basic bank accounts are not the most glamorous of financial products. But they offer an essential financial lifeline to more than eight million customers who otherwise might not have a current account. ...read
LEE BOYCE: Poor savings rates and tales of hard-selling - are we losing faith in building societies?
With building societies priding themselves as alternative from 'big bad banks,' should they be offering stalwart rates and behaving better in branches? ...read
LISA BUCKINGHAM: Interest-only mortgages are NOT a scandal
There is little evidence that anyone was misled or ignorant of the risks they were taking, which is why calls for ‘mortgage mis-selling compensation’ are so worrying. ...read
The High Street may not be dead yet but it's falling apart
Everyone got greedy and the High Street as we know it is dead, says one of the country's top retailers, Bill Grimsey. Is he right and what should replace it? ...read
RICHARD DYSON: The complaints industry is booming thanks to the banks
How did we get to the stage where a body that deals with complaints had to be set up to deal with complaints about hundreds of businesses that exist solely to handle complaints? ...read
On your side? Not if Nationwide can't even offer a simple online savings account paying more than 0.45%
Why is Nationwide incapable of offering a simple catch-free online savings account? Its best attempt at 0.45 per cent is pathetic. ...read
Are Ticketmaster's paperless tickets really a bad idea? Or will it mean real fans pay less in the long-term?
Radiohead fans who are unable to attend events are being punished by 'paperless tickets' - but should we support the new system? ...read
ASK TONY: I paid £6,000 into this policy, so why is it now worth nothing?
Tony Hazell helps a number of readers with their queries, including with-profits insurance policies, meter readings and insurance certificates. ...read
TONY HETHERINGTON: Blundering taxman hounds cancer victim
Last year we did not receive a tax return, and assumed that as the Revenue were fully aware of our financial situation, we need not worry. But now we are being told we owe penalties of more than £600. ...read
BLACK DOG: Brush up on your Latin Dave...
David Cameron's nightmare moment on a US chat show – when he couldn’t remember the English translation of ‘Magna Carta’ – could come back to haunt him in time for the next General Election. ...read
Enter a church and you should hear echoes of eternity - not the Sugababes
The Church of England's decision to allow grotesque, overblown weddings in its churches is an act so desperate and hopeless that PETER HITCHENS fears there is no return. ...read
Bella's beauty buzz
The clocks have gone back to we've rounded up the beauty tricks, apps and must-haves to ensure a perfect eight hours of shut eye. ...read
Beauty Bible beauty clinic: How to keep your nails looking lovely this winter
My fingernails are a constant problem, particularly in the winter. I hate them looking scaggy at Xmas parties so is there a regime I can follow to get them in shape? ...read
Liz Jones: In which I get ready to move
After five miserable years, Liz prepares to move out of her Exmoor home. ...read
Mimi Spencer: Halloween is yet another excuse for hitting the tills
FASHION FOR LIFE: Halloween is yet another excuse for hitting the tills. ...read
Health: Why does our teenage daughter self-harm?
We think our previously happy 14-year-old daughter is self-harming. She seems to be pulling out her hair and has several grazes on her body. We don’t know what to do. ...read
Your problems answered
Is she gay or just going through a phase? My 24-year-old daughter has just told me she is gay and has moved in with a girlfriend. I am devastated. ...read
CHRIS EVANS: Cheers set off alarm bells. Sure, I don't get drunk any more. But I do still have the bar
Someone deep within the broadcasting behemoth came up with the idea of running every single episode of the show ever filmed. ...read
The biggest rock tour in history: Behind U2's gigantic £450 milllion live performances
The band's 360° tour has had a 200-ton arachnid forming the stage, a million-piece video wall, 300 crew and a budget of $750,000 a day. ...read
IAN HYLAND: All the young dudes: You're fired!
Shrewd economist Alan Sugar was surely aware that the law of diminishing returns always decreed this junior version would eventually impact on the main show. ...read
JAMES MARTIN: I've bought the gear and learned how to play but what will they say at the golf club when I turn up with a topless model?
Volkswagen’s current 2.0-litre four-pot is a peach of an engine, and in the GTI it loves to rev, so you get a very fast response whenever you put your foot down. ...read
OLLY SMITH: Uncork a real firecracker
With smoke in the air and fireworks crackling overhead, and the bonfire blazing, we should embrace reds with spicy warmth and a few intensely flavoured whites. ...read
THE INSIDER: Our building - one of the strongest in America - was shaking and rattling like a cupboard full of steel skeletons
In that moment, it was clear that Sandy was going to be on a different scale to any weather-related episode I’d ever been through before. ...read
This wireless speaker certainly makes a statement, but does the sound quality match up to the styling?
The best bit of Bang & Olufsen’s new A9 speaker is how you swoosh a hand across a row of little nubs to adjust the volume, and pat it to pause tracks. ...read
TOM PARKER BOWLES: The bill, please: Sublime and richly scented... it's time to stand up for duck
They add heart to the cassoulet’s Gallic heft, and become impossibly seductive when transformed into rillettes and spread on hot toast. ...read
Lord Morris’s Disability Act stands as an exceptional example of political compassion and humanity
ABHIJIT PANDYA: One of the first duties of man, beyond himself and his family, is to the welfare and improvement of common humanity. Lord Morris’ legislation was one of the finest examples of this. ...read
Artistic anti-Semitism is still racial hatred
ADRIAN HILTON: The Israeli Batsheva Dance Company (pictured) were performing at Edinburgh's Playhouse Theatre when they were rudely interrupted by anti-Israel activists and pro-Palestinian protestors. ...read
Why won't the BBC come clean over its bias against Israel - a moral country that deserves our support?
ALEX SINGLETON: Almost the entire Left-wing establishment in this country, including the BBC, has an warped and profoundly wrong view of the Middle East. ...read
The Syrian uprising is an opportunity for the Israeli Air Force
ALLAN MALLINSON: With the Assad regime imploding, Syria's air defences could be seriously degraded, and Southern Syria may well now be the IAF’s most feasible route into Iran via Iraq. ...read
America's middle class is shrinking. So who is to blame?
BRIAN DARLING: Some partisans will try to blame President George W. Bush. Some others will try to blame Obama. Yet the answer is much more complicated than putting the blame on one party, or one president. ...read
Cameron ditches House of Lords reform, and it's going to play havoc with the Coalition
KIRSTY WALKER: At a time when the country is gripped with Olympic fever, few ordinary people will be interested in the latest developments on House of Lords reform and boundary commission changes. ...read
The Cabinet needs a reshuffle: It's time for the PM to stand up to Ken Clarke
CHRIS MONCRIEFF: If the Prime Minister wants to reshuffle his Cabinet, he should do it his way and not allow himself to be influenced by stubborn colleagues, however venerable and illustrious. ...read
Just as there’s no such thing as a free lunch, there’s no such thing as a free plastic bag
CLIVE ASLET: Proposals to charge for plastic bags is a good place to start in the battle against a get-something-for-nothing world ...read
Brace yourselves: Argentina's president Cristina Kirchner is on the political attack
DAVID HARDING: As her popularity falls even lower, Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner is looking to exploit anti-British feeling. This may not be her proudest moment... ...read
Why can't we all just stop texting and have an actual face-to-face conversation for once?
DAVID THOMAS: The art of conversation is dying and that’s a pity. Here are just three of the things you can do when talking to another humanoid that you can’t when texting them... ...read
Paul Ryan's rousing speech in Tampa has cemented Medicare as the big issue splitting voters
DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH: Ryan's attack on President Obama and his defence of Republican principles has the Democrats wishing that Hurricane Isaac had hit Tampa instead of New Orleans. ...read
The new dark age: Across Europe, free speech and democracy face their biggest threat since the Thirties
In Greece, a brave editor is arrested. In Italy, academics are jailed. In Paris, corruption rules and in London, the Leveson Inquiry threatens the press. DOMINIC SANDBROOK compares Europe today to the Thirties. ...read
Keeping debt problems secret won't cure them. We need to strip away the shame around financial struggles
DOMINIQUE JACKSON: The longer people struggle on alone with unmanageable debt, the more unmanageable it is bound to become ...read
Tax the rich or the 'cohesion of Britain' will go up in flames: Nick Clegg is literally playing with fire this time
DR ROBERT LEFEVER: By the 'cohesion of Britain', Mr Clegg must be referring to the possibility of a repeat of last summer's riots. But the Lib Dems are comfortable with protest because that is what they do. ...read
People will happily borrow to pay for the trappings of the modern wedding, but all you really need is a pledge of love
FRANCESCA PREECE: Getting married is not about paying for a lavish ceremony. Maybe McCartney was right all along... Can’t Buy Me Love, everybody tells me so. ...read
There is another way for cash-strapped councils: let the community take control
As a councillor, GLENYS ROBERTS is as concerned as anyone that Councils will be kept so short of cash that all but essential services will dry up within the next ten years. ...read
The state makes for a bad parent. The number of children it brings up should be kept to a minimum
HARRY PHIBBS: As children leaving care are more likely to end up in prison than university the Government has rightly confirmed its determination to reduce the number of children in care. ...read
Fans of England cricket will miss Kevin Pietersen's runs. But they won't miss him
HENRY DEEDES: Kevin Pietersen should be the most popular cricketer in England, but fans have never taken him to their hearts. In fact, he is reviled more than revered. ...read
America must make the choice between between crony capitalism and genuine competition
IAIN MURRAY: The class that is holding America back is its regime of 'crony capitalists'. These do not make money from risking their capital, but through the leveraging of state power to their advantage. ...read
Strike-happy union bosses risk trashing Britain's reputation while the eyes of the world are upon us
JACK DOYLE: During the last few months it's become clear that to a small group of militant union chiefs, and some of their members, the Olympics represents not a glorious sporting spectacle but an opportunity to hold the rest of us to ransom. ...read
Is the Coalition really more radical than the Thatcher and Blair governments? Here's MY mid-term review
JAMES CHAPMAN: Following the Coalition claims yesterday, we audit the achievements the Prime Minister and his deputy chose to discuss yesterday ...read
Romney/Ryan turn back the magical thinking of Obama
JAMES LUCIER: Romney/Ryan have taken the line of common sense, the line of reality-based thinking, as opposed to magical thinking. This is a line which says, "I am, therefore I think." ...read
Mr Grieve simply will not stand up to the bullies of Strasbourg
JAMES SLACK: The Attorney General will retreat into the lawyerly position that nothing is more important than respecting the ‘rule of law’ ...read
Damian Green is dragging the dysfunctional student visa system into the daylight. About time too.
JANICE ATKINSON-SMALL: Listening to the BBC's grilling of Damian Green, one would think HE was the one here on an illegal visa. ...read
Patients missing appointments - maybe they never needed them?
JULIA MANNING: The figures for the number of people not turning up for NHS appointments were revealed over the bank holiday weekend – one in ten people don’t attend an appointment. ...read
Teachers are complaining that GCSE English was marked too harshly. But if everyone walks off with an A*, what's the point?
KATHY GYNGELL: After years of grade inflation and manipulation no resetting of the GSCE exam pass level can be fair. It will be tougher for those pupils who fall into the new regime - but what other choice do we have? ...read
The South African miners' massacre raises the ghosts of apartheid - and fears for South Africa's future
LINDSAY JOHNS: The disgraceful massacre at the Marikana platinum mine could and should have been avoided. ...read
Dumas: 'Without euro exit, Germany will soon be in big trouble'
M E SYNON: A new analysis by the totally excellent economist Charles Dumas of Lombard Street Research suggests Germany should not, perhaps cannot, afford the euro. ...read
Am I the only person who thinks Pussy Riot should have been jailed?
MARK DOOLEY: Imagine that rather than invade a Christian church, Pussy Riot decided to perform their 'punk prayer' in a mosque. Do you think Western politicians would be queuing up to support them then? ...read
I admit I’m no Jimmy Carr, but I’m getting better and better at avoiding tax. Here's how...
MARK LITTLEWOOD: I am quite clearly a tax dodger and I am very easy to track down. Are the government really going to come down on me 'like a ton of bricks' for this behaviour? ...read
The Government must keep fighting the Big Brother state - starting with a review of the last decade's surveillance orgy
MATTHEW ELLIOTT: The Coalition parties made surveillance a key issue before the election. Now they are running out of time to finish the reforming work they have started - and protect our privacy. ...read
Desperate George resorts to Plan C (even more cuts)
MELISSA KITE: The chancellor is reportedly digging in his heels and refusing to budge from his post as the Conservatives' main strategist. ...read
What makes a doctor become a terrorist?
MICHAEL BURLEIGH: An NHS medic has been found fighting with Islamic fanatics in Syria. He's just the latest in a deeply disturbing trend. ...read
Over the next few years, George Osborne might not be Mr Popular, but he may be Mr Right
MITCH FEIERSTEIN: In February 2010, twenty economists published a letter in the Sunday Times calling on George Osborne to begin spending cuts a year earlier than planned. ...read
Is there life on Planet Clegg? Yes, but it cannot add up
NICK WOOD: The so-called Deputy Prime Minister has today come out with another bucket of moonshine. Only a few months after signing off a cut in top rate income tax, he now wants a new wealth tax, intended to get the rich to cough up billions. ...read
Don't look now Dave and Damian - but your crew is mutinying
NIGEL JONES: The Titanic is an apt metaphor for where the Tories are heading under Captain Cameron's leadership. His maiden voyage, the Coalition, is steering straight for the iceberg. ...read
This summer of patriotic fervour suggests a change in the tone of British culture
PETER WHITTLE: With the Jubilee celebrations behind us and the Olympics round the corner, what is this summer of celebration telling us about the state of British patriotism? ...read
Tony Nicklinson is paying a high but necessary price for a civilised society that protects its most vulnerable
GEORGE PITCHER: Yesterday's High Court judgment is first and foremost a terrible blow for Tony Nicklinson, who is paralysed from the neck down after a stroke and can communicate only by blinking. ...read
Ireland has now passed the point where it can honestly be deemed an independent country
A sober-minded observer of Irish history is unable to watch Ireland’s elective slouch into Euro-mediocrity without profound dismay. Ireland’s ‘Yes’ to the fiscal compact is its ‘No’ to the more strenuous but more honourable path of recovering the responsibilities of self-government. ...read
Whatever your views on gay marriage, the debate should be dignified and sensitive
Last night RUPERT MYERS saw the Catholic journalist Milo Yiannopoulos argue bravely and honestly for a number of things, including against gay marriage. ...read
Greece moves closer to the Eurozone’s exit door
RUTH LEA: Over the next few years the Eurozone could shrink to a “core” of rich nations or it could break up altogether. The dream of European unity would then lie in tatters. ...read
RUTH SUNDERLAND: Britain has to break free of its debt shackles
Policymakers are waking up to the fact that we can't just cross our fingers and hope for a return to growth: we have to deal with the debt. ...read
Is David Cameron fatally out of step with the voters on Europe?
SIMON HEFFER believes the Prime Minister either doesn’t see, or doesn’t want to see, the level of public hostility towards Brussels. ...read
The Tories need renewal not reshuffle
SIMON RICHARDS: With the Coalition floundering, there's no doubt that a reshuffle is long overdue, but, of course, the heads which ought to roll will emerge unscathed from the rearrangement. ...read
The Paralympics celebrate the strength of disabled people – as do all the protests that accompany them
SONIA POULTON: Let us remember that away from the splendour of the Olympic Stadium, our disabled people have been treated as anything but heroes. ...read
Soon all sex offenders leaving jail will have to take a lie-detector test. How long until someone cries 'human rights'?
STEPHEN LEVINSON: The Government believes the law is bomb-proof, but unless great care is taken it could wind up facing claims of privacy infringement. ...read
For 50 years, Keith Bennett's mother has planned his funeral. It's time for one final effort to find his body
STEPHEN WRIGHT: Ian Brady may have confessed the location of Keith Walker's grave. The boy's mother, Winnie Johnson, is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. ...read
The 'have it all' generation of women may have to learn how to die like men
STEVE DOUGHTY: We are all living longer, thanks to our comfy offices, better health care, better fitness and less smoking. Women live longer than men, because they just do. ...read
Many a man needs killing and many a lie needs to be exposed, but killers and tale-bearers do not necessarily deserve respect
THOMAS FLEMING: So far as I am concerned Julian Assange should be prosecuted for treason: he was not only disloyal to his country but he violated the rules of the game. ...read
Wrong questions, Mr Hammond. You are asking the wrong questions
WILLIAM FORBES: Mr Hammond is reported as saying that he "would rather fire soldiers than go to war with poor equipment" – but that is not the choice. ...read
CRAIG BROWN BOOK OF THE WEEK: Brian Sewell is the connoisseur with a flame thrower
In his second volume of autobiography, the waspish art critic Brian Sewell makes sure that his acknowledgements go with a bang, writes CRAIG BROWN. ...read
DAILY MAIL COLUMNISTS
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- The honeymooners: Newlyweds Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel land in Tanzania for luxurious safari getaway Bound for the Serengeti
- Hello Dolly! Supermum Jennifer Garner holds baby Samuel in one arm and a toy doll in the other during daytime stroll
- She certainly has something to smile about! Kristen Stewart caught with an elusive grin on her face as relationship with Robert Pattinson blossoms
- What a Fair Lady! Nicole Kidman channels Audrey Hepburn in elegant black-and-white lace dress and matching hat Inspired by iconic outfit
- Weathering on after Sandy: Katie Holmes returns to work on Broadway with daughter Suri by her side Preparing for debut of new play
- A lovers stroll: Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart go on a romantic evening walk as tour takes them to Copenhagen Spotted hand-in-hand
- Like mother, like daughter: Alessandra Ambrosio and her mini-me Anja wear matching ensembles as they run errands Matching pink tops
- Still got the spark! More intimate Twilight stills of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson released as excitement builds over new film
- That's how to do couple chic! Michael Bublé and wife Luisana make a stylish exit in matching leather coats The Canadian singer looked sharp in jeans
- Halloween is over Fergie! Singer keeps scary theme going with her goblin-green pointy manicure Showed off her talons
- Still in the honeymoon phase! Drew Barrymore and husband only have eyes for each other at basketball game They got married nearly five months ago
- Olympic champ Gabby Douglas dazzles on the cover of Essence Magazine's 'Women of the Year' issue Talks about her life after her Olympic success
- 15 months and never the same outfit twice! Harper Beckham's VERY posh $8,000 designer wardrobe World's most fashionable tot
- Elton John wins copyright battle over 1985 song Nikita as judge throws out songwriter's case Guy Hobbs filed suit in April
- Maybe variety isn't the spice of life: Kim Kardashian steps out in ANOTHER leather ensemble Now only allows leather in wardrobe
- Baby love! Sarah Jessica Parker's twin girls are quite the little mothers as they push their dolls along in matching strollers So cute
- Ben Stiller doles out pancakes at New York shelter... as Alec Baldwin comforts students left homeless by Superstorm Sandy Helping out
- Low key glamour: Relaxed Demi Moore works the casual style in simple jeans and blazer as she jets out of LAX Seemed in good spirits
- A family affair: Reese Witherspoon is effortlessly chic in double denim as she cheers on son Deacon alongside her mother
- You're not on stage now! Anna Friel steps out in a dress more suitable for her 1890s character at the press night for Uncle Vanya For London show
- Jeff Goldblum's alleged stalker 'arrested outside theatre where actor is performing' Three-year restraining order in place
- 'I did not miscarry. I chose abortion': 16 and Pregnant star Jamie McKay's shocking confession on Twitter She already has two-year-old daughter
- Leonardo DiCaprio 'splits' from Victoria's Secret model girlfriend Erin Heatherton An insider explained the pair's hectic work schedules is the reason
- 'John Travolta's the love of my life': Kirstie Alley admits she fell for her Look Who's Talking co-star in surprise interview Flashback to the '80s
- Blue overkill! Glum Paris Hilton goes overboard with coordinated colours as she jets out of LA Didn't look cheerful at all!
- Christina Aguilera leads the celebrity performances at star-studded TV telethon to aid the victims of Superstorm Sandy
- What will James say? Pippa Middleton steps out with another close male friend at trendy London members club Chose a scarlet sixties style coat in Britain
- 'Adele is bigger than me, how come nobody says anything about it': Lady Gaga praises British star's confidence as she weighs in on body image debate
- Feeling ruff! Dog lover Kristin Chenoweth gets couples therapy from Chelsea Handler in Funny or Die skit Relationship problems with pooch Maddie
- Papua New Guinea welcomes the 'Queen's pikinini': Schoolchildren in traditional dress greet Charles and Camilla on island tour
- Homeland howlers: Since when has Beirut been in Israel? Would spies really communicate by Skype? And is there not a single CCTV camera in the US?
- Say cheese! Smiling Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis take happy snaps on romantic tour Down Under The couple took their romance to Australia
- Nicki Minaj bulges out of her bra as she wears an all denim outfit on Alan Carr's Chatty Man The rapper was a guest star on the British comedian's show
- Back on the watch! Pamela Anderson dons an itty bitty wetsuit for save the whales campaign Even rode a Jet Ski
- The coolest family in town? Alicia Keys dresses all in leather for family day out at Madison Square Garden Still got the cool factor
- 'I chose to seek treatment regarding my use of Xanax': Octomom speaks out from rehab about prescription drug use Had a stressful year
- No wonder she wants to show it off! January Jones reveals her trim tummy (and underwear) in sheer top for lunch outing Back to her old self
- Dressed for (yoga) success! Russell Brand dons eccentric ensemble as he heads to class Certainly see him coming!
- Sleepless in New York! Meg Ryan's daughter Daisy looks tired as they arrive for flight All warn out
- Bringing the glamour to Liverpool: Rita Ora is dressed to impress as she graces the red carpet for MOBO Awards 2012 All eyes were on her
- Where's Jedward? Tara Reid leaves her BFF's at home as she steps out with new mystery man for a romantic dinner in London
- 'It was sickening': Linda Hogan slams ex-husband Hulk Hogan's sex tape and criticises his bedroom performance How embarrassing
- Yeehaw! Gwen Stefani dresses as a Native American, cavorts with a wolf, and ends up handcuffed in No Doubt's new Wild West themed music video
- Robin Roberts steps out into the streets of New York post-Sandy as she attends routine hospital check up Wearing a surgical mask and striped scarf
- Searching for the perfect love nest! A-Rod hunts around Beverly Hills for a new home with Torrie Wilson Leaving New York, Alex?
- Fancy seeing you here! Jimmy Fallon has surprise run in with Lindsay Lohan after Superstorm Sandy Unlikely duo
- Too good to be true? Why women are warming to the 'hot pants' that literally burn off fat Zaggora HotPants are a huge success
- Not afraid to take centre stage! Sofia Vergara's pregnant Modern Family character belts out the American National Anthem
- You're not on stage now! Anna Friel steps out in a dress more suitable for her 1890s character at the press night for Uncle Vanya In London
- Must get on with it! Naomi Watts and Liev Schrieber stock up on supplies in New York following Superstorm Sandy No stopping them
- Science can be sexy! Megan Fox stars as sultry scientist in new computer advert...and talks to dolphins Transformers star turns into a marine biologist
- Slimline Reese Witherspoon shops at boutique for new wardrobe for her post-baby body Looks great
- How Ronnie Wood's marriage to a woman 31 years his junior has divided his children Marrying Sally Humphreys
- No Doubt he's picking up tips: Rylan Clark hangs out with the original peroxide queen Gwen Stefani as she treats X Factor hopeful to masterclass