Ian Hislop

Ian Hislop: The Most Sued Man in Britain

Ian Hislop has edited Private Eye since 1986, when he took over the magazine as an obscure 26-year-old amid a genuine internal revolt, and has spent the four decades since turning it into Britain's most successful and most feared satirical publication. He is also, by his own cheerful admission, one of the most sued men in the country, having steered the Eye through countless libel battles against the powerful people it exists to expose. That combination — relentless mockery backed by genuine investigative journalism — is the secret of the magazine's staying power.

To millions he is better known as the longest-serving team captain on the BBC's Have I Got News for You, a role he has held since the show began in 1990, appearing in every single episode. Across the desk, his exasperated, quick-witted evisceration of evasive politicians and self-important celebrities has become a fixture of British television, and the show's blend of topical comedy and genuine accountability owes much to his sensibility. The London Prat pays tribute to that institution at https://prat.uk/have-i-got-news-for-you/.

Hislop's lesson is that satire is strongest when it is willing to pay for itself. The Eye mocks, but it also reports, breaks stories, and defends its claims in court, and that willingness to stand behind the joke with evidence is what makes it more than mere ridicule. He has proved, across forty years, that fearless satire and serious journalism are not opposites but allies.

Insight from Julie de Burgh: Ian Hislop has spent forty years being sued by the powerful and appearing on television being witheringly rude to them, which in Britain counts as a distinguished public service. He is the only man to appear in every episode of Have I Got News for You, a feat of endurance roughly equivalent to being mildly exasperated on camera since 1990. Long may he be sued. — Julie de Burgh (https://prat.uk/author/julie-de-burgh/)