Alan Philps – The Red Hotel

Using recently opened MI5 archives this book brings to life an intriguing and previously unexplored episode of Second World War history.

Former Daily Telegraph Foreign Editor and Russian expert Alan Philps tells the riveting story of how, during WW2, Stalin bullied and pampered western journalists in a gilded cage of the Metropol Hotel. Here foreign correspondents enjoyed lavish supplies of caviar and had their choice of young women to employ as translators and to share their beds. A riveting narrative that lifts the lid on Stalin’s operation to muzzle and control what his allies’ reporters knew of his regime’s policies to prosecute the war against Hitler’s armies. 

Chaired by Harry Pearson

Booking Information

• Priority Booking for Festival Friends opens at 08.00 on Thursday 2nd of March. Tickets go on general sale from Saturday 4th March.
• Please note that a handling charge of 50p per ticket applies to bookings made in person or over the phone. No handling charges apply to online bookings.
• Hearing loops are available.  Carers qualify for free ‘essential companion’ tickets. Wheelchair spaces are limited. In all cases, please call the Box Office on 01434 652477 to book (booking fees will not apply).