The English! The rich have eaten your future and your poor have given them the food—that’s what’s happened to the English. - John le Carré

Haydon had found his charm again. He could do that at the drop of a hat. He drew you and he repelled you. I remember that exactly. He danced all ways for you, playing your emotions against each other because he had none of his own.

Every writer wants to be believed. But every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.

Where I kick myself is where I think I actually contributed to the myth of the intelligence services being very good.