James Hanning was educated at Eton and LSE. He spent several years living abroad preparing a doctoral thesis on Italian politics before starting a career in journalism. Initially he worked freelance for free magazines before joining the Daily Mail and then moving to the Londoner’s Diary on the Evening Standard. Under Max Hastings he rose to become Associate Editor, with responsibility for the Comment pages. In 2004 he was appointed Executive Editor of the Independent on Sunday. He lives in West London with his wife and two children.