In defence of Piers Morgan: The ex-Mirror editor has some unlikely champions

When news first broke of Piers Morgan's threatened deportation, the usually divisive Jeremy Clarkson was on hand to capture the public sentiment in Morgan's home country, tweeting "Americans. It took us 40 years to get rid of Piers Morgan. Pleasse [sic] don't send him back," while a Keep Piers Morgan in the USA petition has attracted 7,209 signatures to date. The reason stated on the petition? "No one in the UK wants him back" Plus: "It will be hilarious to see how loads of angry Americans react."

Last week the ex-Mirror editor and current CNN host, irritated the 73,000 plus signatories of a White House website petition to have him deported by lambasting gun rights activist Larry Pratt, a guest on his show in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting. "You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?" said Morgan. "You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don't actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America."

His words have also won him some supporters however. Last night Michal Moore, the left-wing filmmaker and director of the 2002 pro-gun control film Bowling For Columbine tweeted: "Leave Piers alone! So sad that the host on American TV to speak out the loudest against this madness is not one of us, but a Brit."

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'

Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over

Hannah England: Keeping Track

I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

Laughter Inc

The cheering growth of the chuckle industry

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.

Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.

Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Iv drip The juice you can't live without