I moved to England after having a gun held to my face I was in a situation with an old high-school buddy back in Georgia in the US, playing cards and gambling. He was on crack and he caught me cheating. That thing they say about your life flashing before your eyes – it's true. I'd always wanted to see England and I promised myself that, if I got out of that situation, I'd go. I was mad, too, that I'd got busted by a crackhead!

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword
Daniel Ellsberg, pictured centre in 1973, chose to stand his ground and was vindicated

What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Out of America: The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win

According to the Guardian newspaper, the payments were made in order to secure access to Britain's intelligence gathering programmes.

Americans pay GCHQ £100m to spy for them, leaked NSA papers from Edward Snowden claim

In return for the payment GCHQ was required to ‘pull its weight’, according to the documents which were leaked last night

NSA director heckled by hackers at Black Hat computer security conference

General Keith Alexander makes public appearance in Las Vegas in wake of whistle-blower Edward Snowden's revelations

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's father considers FBI request for him to visit son in Moscow

Lonnie Snowden has told Russian TV that he needs to know what the FBI want him to do before flying out to see his son

<p>Serpico, 1973</p>
<p>Known for playing characters on both sides of the law, Pacino's next big role was real-life police whistle-blower, Frank Serpico</p>

What makes a whistleblower? Bradley Manning follows in an illustrious tradition of truth-tellers

I spoke to five famous whistleblowers to learn what made them do it

An arrest made as part of the FBI's Operation Cross Country, which saw 76 cities raided

US child prostitution crackdown leads to FBI making 150 arrests

105 young people, mainly girls aged 13-17, freed in three-day sweep across US covering 76 cities, as part of Innocence Lost National Initiative

'A tragic accident in the heat of the moment': new docudrama claims JFK was shot accidentally by a 'hungover' secret service agent

Film suggests that a Secret Service agent, George Hickey, fired one of the bullets that killed Kennedy after a night partying with colleagues

The bird of prey was discovered by residents of Altinavya, a village in Elazig province, wearing a tag marked “24311 Tel Avivunia Israel.”

Kestrel suspected of being Israeli spy by Turkish authorities turns out to be just a bird

The bird of prey was discovered by residents of Altinavya, a village in Elazig province, wearing a tag marked '24311 Tel Avivunia Israel'

Stop and Search: It's time for the police to abolish this ineffective and damaging procedure

Research shows that most arrests follow crime reports from members of the public. Stop and Search sours community relations and makes this less likely to happen

Paperback review: The Watchers - A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I

Stephen Alford's fine study begins with an intriguing titbit of counterfactual history: in 1586, Queen Elizabeth I is assassinated, prompting a Spanish invasion after which Protestant England is reconciled to Rome.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) expressed 'shock' at how the multinational giant Huawei established a huge presence in the UK

Huawei 'an unambiguous national security threat' says former CIA chief

Huawei responds, calling allegations 'tired' and 'unsubstantiated'

Edward Snowden at a meeting with human rights campaigners at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport

Edwards Snowden lawyers reveal he could leave Moscow's transit zone within a week as GCHQ is cleared of using PRISM unlawfully

Russian lawyer says Snowden could leave soon whilst Parliamentary committee finds that reports GCHQ used a secret US programme to access internet providers were unfounded

It was revealed that Britain’s spy centre in Cheltenham has for at least two years been using advanced technology to access hundreds of trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables which daily carry hundreds of millions of private telecommunications messages

GCHQ spying programme: Spy watchdog ‘is understaffed and totally ineffective’

Watchdog’s office consists of only 10 staff to monitor 10,000 working in spy agencies

Microsoft: warned by European Union regulators to modify how it presents Internet Explorer in Windows 8

Edward Snowden claims Microsoft collaborated with NSA and FBI to allow access to user data

New allegations from the NSA whistleblower suggest a degree of collusion between US intelligence agencies and Microsoft that had been previously denied

Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
Berlin - East meets West
Three nights from only £399pp Find out more
Europe’s finest river cruises
Four nights from £669pp, seven nights from £999pp or 13 nights from £2,199pp Find out more
Historic Sicily
Seven nights half-board from only £799pp Find out more
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from only £749pp Find out more
Pompeii, Capri and the Bay of Naples
Seven nights half-board from only £719pp Find out more
Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end