Paul Johnson (born Paul Bede Johnson on 2 November 1928 in Manchester, England) is a British Roman Catholic journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, and Magdalen College, Oxford. Johnson first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. A prolific writer, he has written over 40 books and contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers. Whilst associated with the left in his early career, he is now a prominent conservative popular historian.

Early life and career
During the 1970s Johnson became increasingly conservative in his outlook, where he has largely remained. In his Enemies of Society (1977), following a series of articles in the British press, he vehemently attacked the trade union movement over its violence and intolerance, terming them "fascists". Certainly, as Britain's economy faltered, Johnson began to perceive a solution in Margaret Thatcher's message of less government and less taxation. Emotionally and mentally, he was won over to the Right and became among the closest advisers to Margaret Thatcher. "In the 1970s Britain was on its knees. The left had no answers. I became disgusted by the over-powerful trade unions which were destroying Britain," he recalls. [4] After Margaret Thatcher's victory in the general election of 1979 Johnson advised on changes to legislation concerning trade unions, and was also one of Mrs Thatcher's speechwriters. "I was instantly drawn to her," he recalls. "I'd known Margaret at Oxford. She was not a party person. She was an individual who made up her own mind. People would say that she was much influenced by Karl Popper or Frederick Hayek." He taught her to follow a mix of Adam Smith and the Ten Commandments. "The result was that Thatcher followed three guiding principles: truthfulness, honesty and never borrowing money," says Johnson. [5]
Johnson began writing a column for The Spectator in 1981; initially focusing on media developments, it subsequently acquired the title "And Another Thing", which varies in tone and content. In his journalism Johnson is apt to see evidence of general decline, whether in art, education, religious observance or personal conduct. [6] [7]
Johnson wrote a column for the Daily Mail until 2001. His break with the Mail has left him bitter. In a Daily Telegraph interview in November 2003 though, he criticised the Mail for having a pernicious impact: "I came to the conclusion that that kind of journalism is bad for the country, bad for society, bad for the newspaper".[8]
In addition to his column in The Spectator, Johnson is a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph, mainly as a book reviewer, and in the United States to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the National Review. For a time in the early 1980s he wrote for the The Sun.
Johnson is a critic of modernity because of what he sees as its moral shortcomings.[9] and also finds those who use Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to justify their atheism or use it to promote biotechnological experimentation [10] objectionable. As a result of Johnson's views on evolution,[11] the Darwinian scientist and noted atheist Richard Dawkins[12] has been a target of Johnson's pen in the past. As a conservative Catholic, he regarded Liberation theology as a heresy and defends clerical celibacy, but sees women priests as inevitable.[13]
Admired by conservatives in the United States, he is strongly anti-communist[14]. Johnson has defended Richard Nixon[15] in the Watergate scandal, finding his cover-up considerably less heinous than Bill Clinton's perjury, and Oliver North in the Iran-Contra Affair. In his Spectator column he has defended convicted perjurer and friend Jonathan Aitken[16] and has expressed admiration for General Franco.[17] He has, on the other hand, criticized European countries, in particular France, for being undemocratic [18].
He served on the Royal Commission on the Press (1974-77) and later was a member of the Cable Authority (regulator) from 1984 to 1990.
In 2006, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

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