Spending more time with the family

Trouble at the London branch of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy -- Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore is "retiring" to work on a biography of Maggie Thatcher. Retiring at age 46? Did England become like France all of a sudden?

If there's any doubt about what's going on, it's settled by this:

He will be succeeded by Martin Newland, 41, formerly Deputy Editor of the National Post of Canada.

In other words, Lord Black of Crossharbour, one-time Canadian citizen, is moving in one of his former hacks from the Toronto branch of the VRC to beef up Black's pursuit of a Dubya-loving, BBC-hating agenda. Although if this agenda gets much more beefed up, the Telegraph will be looking at a bad case of gout.

UPDATE 20 NOV 2005: Newland, despite the inevitable tag as a last-gasp Black appointee, did manage to last two years before getting pushed out; multiple factors seemingly at work including the new owners' desire to have their own man, and disagreement about who, if anyone, to back in the Tory leadership contest.