Christopher Hope (journalist)

Hope was born on 24 October 1971.[1] His parents are Michael and Caroline.[2] He was educated at Shrewsbury School. He wanted to be a journalist since being a child, and did work experience at the Formby Times. He attended Bristol University, studying politics and international relations, before going to the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies in the mid-1990s to complete a post-grad in journalism.[3]

Hope formerly worked for PrintWeek, Construction News, The Scotsman and The Herald.[1]

In 2001 Hope helped found a daily financial newspaper in Scotland, Business AM, which folded the following year. He was hired by The Daily Telegraph's City editor Neil Collins in 2003 to be part of its business team,[3] in which he served as business correspondent and industry editor. In 2008 he was promoted from home affairs editor to Whitehall editor,[4] thus entering the politics team, and subsequently moved to the role of senior political correspondent.[3] He was part of the team of Daily Telegraph journalists that broke the news of the parliamentary expenses scandal.[1] He claimed to have coined the term 'flipping' to denote the alleged practice of MPs re-designating second homes.[5]

Hope co-wrote the book Conundrum with Richard Bacon, a detailed account of the failings of UK public sector and government projects.[6]

In 2013 he served as chairman of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.[3]

Hope was booed and jeered at the UKIP 2015 general election campaign launch after asking about why the only black face on the party's manifesto was on the overseas aid page.[7] Some of the party's supporters accused him of racism on social media after the launch ended.[8] James Kirkup wrote that "the party's actions could have a chilling effect on journalistic scrutiny" and called on UKIP to apologise for Hope's "discraceful treatment".[9]

In 2019[3] and 2020[1] he served as chairman of the Lobby.

In an interview in 2019 he clarified his and The Telegraph's relationship with Prime Minister and former columnist Boris Johnson.[10]

His suggestion of a Brexit 50p coin led to the coin being minted.[11]

Hope was formerly The Daily Telegraph's chief political correspondent and assistant editor.[12] He has presented the BBC Radio 4 programme Week in Westminster.[13]

Hope is The Daily Telegraph's associate editor (politics). He presents Chopper's Politics (formerly Chopper's Brexit Podcast), a weekly podcast featuring interviews with politicians and commentators. He is also the writer of the Peterborough diary.[14]

Hope is married to Sarah Hope.[15] They have one son, Barnaby, and two daughters, Sapphire and Pollyanna. They have a Jack Russell named Queenie.[2]

In April 2007, Hope found that his family had been hit by a bus in South London, leaving Sarah badly injured and killing her mother Elizabeth. Their daughter lost her right leg in the crash, leading Sarah and her sister to create Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope, a charity devoted to helping young amputees in developing countries.[15] Hope and Sarah moved to Norfolk after the crash, and were affected in the long-term through suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.[2] The bus driver was found guilty of death by dangerous driving and jailed for four years.[16] In April 2016, Transport for London launched the Sarah Hope Line to provide advice and support to people affected by serious incidents on London's transport network.[17]

Tim Shipman, a fellow journalist and friend, helped give him the nickname Chopper.[3]

• Bacon, Richard; Hope, Christopher (2013). Conundrum: Why every government gets things wrong and what we can do about it. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1849545525.

• Interview from Media Masters