XOutlier
Download .zipAdd to Chrome

Lionel Barber

@lionelbarber106k followers

Editor, Financial Times 2005-20. Author of Gambling Man, a biography of SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. Co-host of Media Confidential podcast. Recovering Spurs fan

Open on X
Top outlier
31.1×
Best organic post
Peak views
1.2M
Single post
Bookmarks
5.6k
Across 100 organic posts
Last scan
Oct 17
Community cache
Posts 100 posts
#DatePost↓ OutlierViewsLikesRepostsBookmarks
1Nov 8, '24I can confirm from a Trump source that a special US deal for UK is under consideration. Trump feels that neither Tory nor Labour governments have made anything of Brexit. No Singap31.1×1.2M3.7k659422
2Jan 31, '22Starmer demolishes Johnson in front of Tory MPs stunned into silence: worth watching every minute27.7×047k8.7k2.6k
3Jul 6, '17Letter of the decade on Brexit, only in @FT17.7×022k12k5
4Jun 29, '22Angela Rayner best put down since Julia Gillard demolished Tony Abbott sexism “My advice to the Deputy PM is to cut out the snobbery and brush up on his opera. The Marriage of Figa9.2×019k2.6k97
5Apr 5, '22Nadine Dorries wrongly claimed last year that Channel 4 was “in receipt of public money”. Now she claims selling off free-to-air Channel 4 will allow it to compete against streamin8.7×016k3.2k29
6May 23, '20Priti Patel yesterday: “We will not allow a small minority, a reckless minority to endanger us all so there will be penalties for those who break these mandatory measures.” What do7.5×014k2.9k28
7Jul 24, '18Letter of the week on Brexit: a City’s veteran’s explosive verdict. Worth reading every word. #Brexit7.2×07.1k5.1k95
8Jun 21, '22Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said 8,000 job applications from European Union citizens have been rejected by his firm because candidates did not have permission to wo6.7×010k3.3k60
9Apr 14, '21Greensill is the privatisation of the NHS writ large: access to data and billing was the big prize and #Greensill met everyone who mattered (Hancock, Harding, Stevens etc). This is4.5×06.4k2.7k45
10Nov 24, '20Amazing that when Bank of England Governor says No Deal Brexit will damage economy more than Covid, it is barely considered news. Surreal too that the (likely) deal will be Hard Br3.9×06.4k1.8k22
11Sep 25, '22Downing Street chief of staff paid by a lobbying group is a damned good story which needs explaining but nowhere near as good as news that Truss government plans to increase immigr3.6×06.1k1.5k41
12Dec 19, '18George Soros, billionaire philanthropist and standard bearer of liberal democracy, is the FT’s Person of the Year via @financialtimes3.5×04.7k1.6k48
13Sep 19, '20All aspiring journalists should read this model Matthew Parris intro on Boris Johnson and watch how he manages a metaphor. Brilliant !3.5×05.5k1.5k119
14Jun 4, '17Fake quote, Mr President. Full quote: Mayor says no reason to be alarmed by extra police presence in London thisweek3.3×03.6k2.5k0
15Aug 25, '19In the Brexit referendum, we were told exiting the EU would be a cake walk and a new trade deal would be agreed on day two. Now Boris Johnson is asking for legal advice on shutting3.3×05.1k1.6k6
16Dec 21, '20It’s pretty clear now that Johnson egged up the transmissibility of the new strain of the virus so much (to justify belated cancelling Christmas) that he ended up spooking EUropean3.2×05.4k95349
17Feb 28, '25Ambush of Zelensky in Oval Office, taunted by Vance and dressed down by Trump. All pre-planned to strip Ukraine’s leader of dignity - terrible treatment of a man who tried to save 2.9×106k2.8k50832
18Oct 4, '17Spain needs international mediation - not monarchy intervention which looks like a mistaken last throw of the dice on Catalonia2.8×02.1k2.6k0
19Mar 15, '22The presence of the Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers in Kyiv - in the middle of a war zone - is a powerful testament to European unity in the face of unprovoked aggressi2.8×05.7k77319
20Jul 14, '18Every self-respecting journalist should read this and take note @NickCohen4 #Brexit via @nybooks2.8×03k1.9k101
21Mar 27, '20The British-built versus EU-built ventilators story matters. Current government explanation of missed email does not stack up. To coin a phrase, Boris Johnson could have had his ca2.8×03.4k1.9k48
22Jun 7, '22Boris Johnson’s new pledge to transform the NHS into a “blockbuster health care system in the age of Netflix” would not make it into a newspaper column if I was editing; as a piece2.8×05.4k89121
23Apr 9, '22Credit to Boris Johnson. He has stood with Zelensky in Kyiv and delivered2.8×04.7k41015
24Sep 26, '22Historians will note that the sacking of Sir Tom Scholar was a signal to short the pound. It was a sign of weakness not strength, an unwillingness to listen to independent advice a2.8×04.8k1.2k42
25Jul 25, '22Every British citizen entering and exiting the EU now has their passport checked and stamped. This has nothing to do with Schengen or French bull-headedness as per Tory tabloid exc2.6×04.3k1.3k7
26Nov 3, '21If Tories don’t like the conclusion of one independent committee hearing, then they move the goalposts. Applies as much to Dacre on Ofcom job as Paterson on parliamentary standards2.6×04.4k1.2k18
27Jul 17, '21Congratulations to the New Statesman to have the wit to translate and publish this devastating indictment of Boris Johnson and his post Brexit government written by a German journa2.6×02.9k1.4k305
28Jun 4, '20Wow! US military top brass are warning Trump they will not be co-opted in a political fight against fellow citizens. This comes on top of General Mattis outburst. US armed forces a2.5×03.6k1.5k47
29Oct 11, '22Hard to understate the damage caused by Kwarteng’s mini Budget: fresh emergency Bank of England intervention in gilts market, up to £60bn public spending cuts to balance unfunded t2.5×03.9k1.2k20
30May 31, '22Most underreported story this morning: Sterling turning into an emerging market currency, warns Wall Street bank2.5×02.8k1.4k153
31Oct 16, '18Ouch - Letter of the day: Time for a revolution at the FT!2.4×03k1.3k44
32Jun 25, '20BBC should have broadcast pictures of Jenrick and Desmond sitting together at Tory fund raiser. This is news pure and simple - not fake and not comment. And it’s unquestionably in 2.4×04.1k1.1k4
33Sep 28, '21👀 “Why would you want to go to Britain, jump all these hoops…if you could go to Ireland or Holland and earn more, be respected, drive on nicer motorways with nice truck stops, and2.4×04.1k1k36
34Jan 28, '22Met position unfathomable: first, nothing to see here. Then, after Sue Gray conducts a proper investigation, they big foot a report which would have laid bare Covid rule-breaking u2.2×03.9k88115
35Jun 9, '22The Brexit debate is shifting, finally, as economic reality bites and Johnson’s permanent state of hostilities with EU is exposed as futile. Space opening for sensible debate about2.2×04.1k74316
36Dec 18, '21So farewell, Lord Frost You did a lot of damage in a very short time. Your timing is as opportunistic as ever (E.J Thribb) #BrexitReality2.2×04.5k6528
37Feb 18, '21There is a certain irony about Lord Frost’s rise to Cabinet membership in charge of UK-EU relations and the Brexit campaign’s incessant railing against unelected bureaucrats in Bru2.2×04k84412
38Nov 24, '21Showstopper which reveals everything you need to know about third-rate quality of much of the Johnson government2.2×03.9k78539
39Feb 4, '22The staff turnover in Downing Street has reached levels at Trump’s White House. The parallels do not end there2.2×04.5k6253
40Mar 6, '21Cost of Covid test and trace is to date a staggering £37bn. Can someone break down and analyse this (ineffective) splurge with the same forensic attention as currently being paid t2.2×03.6k93920
41May 30, '21Watch Brazil2.2×03.7k94924
42May 31, '20The President of the United States is inciting violence against journalists. It doesn’t get much darker than this2.2×03.4k1.1k23
43Apr 2, '20I’ve been a Tottenham fan for 57 years but never so disappointed that the club is taking taxpayers money to support furloughed staff but still paying sky-high wages to players. It’2.1×04.2k6266
44May 6, '22Tories and their media allies have done a brilliant job turning the beer tables on Keir Starmer, but dragging the police into the political arena in Durham (and London) cannot be l2.1×03.8k5966
45Sep 7, '22On Sterling’s slide: “The currency markets are saying that all UK assets are worth less than they used to be. Land, property, companies, bank deposits, government debt — everything2.0×02.5k1.2k80
46Mar 11, '22One incontestable fact: Putin’s war has reinvigorated the EU !2.0×03.9k44515
47Jul 13, '19Suing an individual - rather than an organisation -for libel is indeed a very important distinction. Clearly intended to muzzle @carolecadwalla who bust open the Cambridge Analytic2.0×03.2k1k8
48Sep 29, '22Lord Frost now attacking the Economist, the FT, Mark Carney and Gordon Brown as “the hectoring classes” fronting for the “international nomenklatura”. You cannot make this pseudo-M2.0×03.5k68336
49Apr 15, '22Let’s us journalists be clear about the new Rwanda policy: it’s transportation of asylum seekers with a one-way ticket and a whopping price tag1.9×02.7k6585
50Oct 31, '20Irresistible conclusion - independent of all those slides - is that Johnson delayed national lockdown because Starmer got in first, grasping weight of SAGE advice1.9×03.5k64013
51Jun 26, '21If Hancock hangs on, we know England has turned into Animal Farm where all animals are expected to follow the Covid rules but some animals can do what the hell they like1.9×03.6k59715
52Jan 24, '22Sue Gray is interviewing the police but police still refusing to investigate. The Met are waiting for the evidence, just like Tory MPs and the PM. This is Alice in Wonderland1.9×03.9k5487
53Sep 29, '22Liz Truss could not even answer the most basic questions about government borrowing, mortgages and debt markets - insult to local radio interviewers, the listening public and her o1.8×03.5k60510
54Dec 29, '21Cue howls of outrage against France, but the fact is that Britain is now considered a third country by the EU as a whole, with no special relationship and a pile of disadvantages. 1.8×03k62521
55Mar 24, '22Killer question to brittle Sunak on @BBCr4today : if you don’t know the price of energy in six months, how can you be sure about a promised 1p cut in income tax before the next ele1.8×03.5k64210
56Aug 8, '18Friends of Boris “burka” Johnson say he is speaking up for liberal values. This is tosh. Genuine liberals don’t make calculated insults about minorities1.8×03k7843
57Mar 14, '21It’s all very well calling for Cressida Dick to resign but “heads must roll” is no substitute for a serious look at the government’s directions on demonstrations, free speech and p1.8×03.5k5098
58Nov 6, '21OUCH! How to write an indictment1.7×03k72654
59Oct 12, '18Official statement: The Financial Times will not be partnering with the FII conference in Riyadh while the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi remains unexplained1.7×02.7k8522
60Feb 12, '22Johnson’s defence that Number 10 is a unique home and work space is legal sophistry. He knew what the Covid rules were and, if found guilty of breaking them/fined, should go. We ha1.7×03.2k4792
61Mar 13, '22This story should receive more attention. Barclay twins - mega millionaire owners of the Telegraph - did not need to take Russian money. But they did and they paid Boris Johnson a 1.6×02.4k87829
62Mar 28, '22Biden’s “regime change” gaffe is a one day story. Putin’s barbaric, unprovoked war against Ukraine goes on and on. Time for some perspective from BBC and other news outlets1.6×03k4317
63Jun 17, '22We were told time and again that UK would be intensely relaxed about trading under WTO rules post Brexit. And that Global Britain would take full advantage of free trade with RoW. 1.6×02.9k65520
64Dec 1, '18In 1940, Britain 🇬🇧 was surrounded by enemies and stood alone. Thank God! In 2018, Britain is surrounded by friends and stands alone. OMG - Italian diplomat quote of the year #br1.6×02.2k93513
65Sep 2, '22Sterling slumps to 1.15 to US dollar. Of course, it’s Putin, war, and the cost of energy; but does anybody seriously think it has nothing to do with a lack of confidence in the gov1.6×02.6k53212
66Jan 9, '21The Trump Twitter ban and Facebook’s belated clampdown finally settles it: platforms are publishers, with all the responsibilities that come along with that privilege1.5×02.7k57027
67Feb 22, '22Contrast Scholz underpromising and delivering on Nordstream II, and Johnson overpromising and underdelivering on economic sanctions in face of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. UK prote1.5×02.7k5348
68Nov 12, '19Some personal news. After 14 years, I am stepping down as editor in the New Year. It has been a rare privilege and a great pleasure to hold the best job in journalism. Full stateme1.5×02.7k44713
69Jun 13, '22It’s amazing how 90 per cent of the conversation about Johnson’s desperate plan to gut the NI protocol is about the Tory party and 10 per cent about the impact on Northern Ireland 1.5×02.7k5506
70Jul 23, '20How to interview Donald Trump. They don’t make ‘em like Barbara Walters any more .....#wawa #wiwa1.5×02.5k535105
71May 27, '22Boris Johnson apologises and “takes full responsibility” for law breaking one day, and two days later changes the ministerial code to stop ministers being sacked or having to resig1.5×02.9k4726
72Dec 6, '20We weren’t just told we would get a deal. Johnson, Gove et al promised it would be easy peasy, done and dusted. Remember that if this government fails to strike an agreement with t1.4×02.4k4316
73Apr 1, '19BREAKING news: it’s official. The Financial Times has passed the milestone of 1m readers - one year ahead of schedule. Congratulations and thanks to my brilliant journalist colleag1.4×02.7k4115
74Jan 14, '22“Operation Save Big Dog” is a sixth form euphemism for sackings of civil servants and political advisers who took their lead from Boris Johnson. He was in charge, remember? Won’t w1.4×02.6k4735
75Jun 5, '20Those who believe, like me, that we are witnessing a crisis in American democracy should ask three questions: will Trump allow a free and fair election in November, will he concede1.3×02.2k51713
76Nov 22, '19Great piece of reportage: Fiona Hill, cold-eyed patriot, debunker of conspiracy theories – a heroine for our times1.3×02.1k60932
77Jun 23, '19The Bannon connection and the Boris Johnson denial are worth more airtime than the late night bust up with his partner Carrie Symonds. Discuss #ToryLeadershipContest1.3×02k6453
78Nov 18, '21Ken Clarke: There is an increasing yearning for colourful theatrical personalities with simple solutions to complex problems. These individuals offer up scape-goats and easy ways o1.3×02.1k55664
79Mar 2, '22The dirty secret is that the Tory party has had its hand out for Russian money for a long time, just like Le Pen in France, Salvini in Italy, the Austrian far right etc etc. They a1.3×02.1k56120
80Oct 23, '21I never thought I would hear a serious politician demand a Brexit litmus test for a top BBC reporting job like the replacement for @bbclaurak. Tories like Julian Knight have gone f1.3×02.1k5415
81Sep 21, '19Coup against Tom Watson shows Labour’s unerring instinct for self destruction in the middle of a national crisis. Add this to noxious state of Tory party and you see what Brexit ha1.3×01.9k4379
82Jan 21, '21Downgrading EU diplomatic mission in London is not just petty, it’s blinkered. Brussels will find 100 ways of making life uncomfortable in return. the EU exists! Solution: act like1.2×02.3k4249
83Apr 20, '22I don’t care what the EU does any more, says the man whose City of London fund management business set up two new funds in Dublin to take advantage of EU single market1.2×02k59211
84Nov 5, '22The foul Williamson texts are just the latest evidence that this is a fag end Conservative government depleted of talent, and that Boris Johnson left a legacy the very opposite of 1.2×02.3k4625
85Apr 27, '20Correct decision by Ofcom (Office for spotting cruelty on ministers) @piersmorgan was well within acceptable conduct on screen holding hapless care minister to account1.2×02.4k2602
86Nov 12, '20There will be no coup in America, whatever Trump’s posturing. Here is US top military officer: “We are unique among militaries. We do not take an oath to a king or a queen, a tyran1.2×02.3k29215
87Jul 9, '19Piers, nice try. But the hole in the heart of your argument is that diplomacy is not about being nice to your host country. It is about gathering information, negotiating in privat1.1×02.2k3689
88Apr 8, '22The Ultra-Remainers mobilising in Kent. Thank you for the traffic update, Frosty1.1×02.2k3526
89Feb 8, '22Boris Johnson must apologies for his Savile slur. He is the prime minister not a two-bit pundit, and we don’t want mob rule on the streets1.1×02.3k2453
90Mar 19, '22Boris Johnson comparing Brexit - where the people had a choice to vote - to Ukraine fighting against an armed Russian invader is not only lazy, ignorant but also obscene. Yet again1.1×02k3677
91Sep 23, '21Oven ready EU deal, front of queue on an easy-peasy UK-US free trade agreement, friction free trade with the EU, nay bother on Northern Ireland…….the list of broken Brexit promises1.0×01.8k4269
92Jul 7, '20Urgent message to the BBC: @afneil is a working monument to inquiring political journalism. Please do not remove him!1.0×02k2853
93Dec 1, '20The missing story in the Brexit talks: EU and Biden’s USA are looking at a grand bargain post Trump covering climate, China and digital standards, while Johnson government is fiddl1.0×01.7k3776
94May 21, '21The issue is not whether Diana would have given the interview. It’s Bashir’s deep deception, the half-assed BBC investigation into the case, Bashir’s exoneration and later rehiring1.0×01.9k25716
95Aug 10, '21A significant victory for free speech and journalism which holds power (and lobbyists) accountable. Well done to LBC and @mrjamesob for fighting this battle!1.0×01.9k34112
96May 15, '22You get told you are slackers, you’re told it’s ok to turn up to parties and you end up being fined, and now you’re told you’re bloated and 90k jobs will go. Who on earth would wan1.0×02k2592
97May 17, '22Five years and counting, the UK national interest has been held hostage by feuding factions and leadership ambitions in the Tory party. First Boris Johnson on Brexit and now Liz Tr1.0×01.8k3634
98Sep 30, '22Truss-Kwarteng digging in against the financial markets brings to mind a Wall Street adage: “If you can keep your head while others around you are losing theirs, then maybe you hav0.9×01.8k32214
99Feb 16, '22The news from London at lunchtime: most of the British establishment, including the monarchy, is helping police with their inquiries. The prime minister of Ruritania will address t0.9×01.7k3004
100Feb 14, '22Steve Rosenberg, BBC correspondent in Moscow, is rapidly becoming a star - rare combo of knowledge of Russian history, language and psychology with an ability to produce the memora0.8×01.8k13721

Scan another creator

@
@karpathy@levelsio@paulg@naval@marclou@illyism

Run this on any account.

XOutlier builds this table for every public profile you open on x.com, with live data and every post, not just the top 50.

Add to Chrome Download .zip