Back to Gideon RachmanI was intrigued to see the news today of the imprisonment of Tom Wise, a former member of the European Parliament for the highly Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) - who want Britain to leave the EU.
In retrospect, I got a hint of the eventual downfall of poor Mr Wise, a few years ago, when I attended the monthly dinner of the UKIP delegation to the parliament - which was held in a bierkeller in Strasbourg. I soon got bored of talking to him about the European Union and discovered that Wise and I shared an interest in wine. When I teased him about how he reconciled his love of fine claret, with his distrust of all things French, Wise became rather indignant. He said that actually his favourite wine of all is Ridge Montebello Cabernet, which is Californian. He was so insistent on its merits, that I later went to try and buy some - and discovered that a single bottle would set me back £100.
I did vaguely wonder how Wise funded his wine habit - and now I know. Apparently quite a lot of the money he embezzled was spent on cases of fine wine. At least it went in a good cause.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid correspondent. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
