“[T]o believe in a god is in one way to express a willingness to believe in anything. Whereas to reject the belief is by no means to profess belief in nothing.”

British journalist and polemicist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, he was renowned for his sharp, provocative essays on politics, literature, and culture. His work blended rigorous analysis with a combative wit, often challenging ideological dogma and defending free speech and secularism.