Described by a former senior Intelligence official as a ‘long-term thorn in the side of the intelligence establishment’, Richard Norton-Taylor reveals the secrets of his forty-year career as a journalist covering the world of spies and their masters in Whitehall. Early in his career, Norton-Taylor successfully campaigned against official secrecy, gaining a reputation inside the Whitehall establishment and the outside world alike for his relentless determination to expose wrongdoing and incompetence. His special targets have always been the security and intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Defence, institutions that often hide behind the cloak of national security to protect themselves from embarrassment and accountability. Encouraged by his trusted contacts in intelligence agencies and Whitehall departments, Norton-Taylor was among the first of the few journalists to consistently attack the planned invasion of Iraq in 2003, and subsequently covered the devastating evidence of every witness in the Chilcot inquiry in the Guardian . With unique access to a wide array of defence sources, The State of Secrecy offers a provocative and rare insight into the disputes among top military commanders as they struggled to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with under-resourced and ill-equipped troops. Winner of numerous awards for his journalism, Norton-Taylor is one of the most respected defence and security journalists of his generation. The State of Secrecy is an illuminating, critical and provocative account of the author’s experiences investigating this secret world.

In 2006, two leading barristers: Philippe Sands QC (for the prosecution) and Julian Knowles (for the defence) tested the evidence of the grounds for an indictment of the British Prime Minister for the crime of aggression against Iraq. They examined a number of distinguished witnesses, including MPs, diplomats, international lawyers, civil servants, UN officials, policy advisors, intelligence experts and journalists. The arguments and testimony gathered, edited into a play by Richard Norton-Taylor, examine the criminal implications of the British Government's decision to use force against Iraq, and allow the audience to decide whether an indictment in this case is proven. Called to Account opened at the Tricycle Theatre, London in April 2007."

Value Engineering: Scenes from the Grenfell Inquiry is a verbatim reconstruction of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. Using only the words spoken at the Inquiry, the play deals predominantly with Part 2 which ran between January 2020 - July 2021 in which evidence was heard from those responsible for the disastrous refurbishment of Grenfell Tower before the tragic fire. Edited by Richard Norton-Taylor and directed by Nicholas Kent, the team behind previous testimonial plays The Colour of Justice: The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry, this edited verbatim account of the Grenfell Inquiry is aimed at giving the public an overview and access to some of the most important evidence. The play shows how companies involved in the refurbishment of the Tower conspired to cover up what they knew about the dangerous and life-threatening materials used to refurbish the Tower. It also reveals the incompetence and neglect of local authorities. Staged in Notting Hill Tabernacle in October 2021, this features the full text of the play alongside additional information on the context of Grenfell and the ongoing inquiry.

Richard Norton-Taylor reveals the secrets of his forty-year career as a journalist covering the world of spies and their masters in Whitehall. Early in his career, Norton-Taylor successfully campaigned against official secrecy, gaining a reputation inside the Whitehall establishment and the outside world alike for his relentless determination to expose wrongdoing and incompetence. His special targets have always been the security and intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Defence, institutions that often hide behind the cloak of national security to protect themselves from embarrassment and being held to account. Encouraged by his trusted contacts in intelligence agencies and Whitehall departments, Norton-Taylor was among the first of the few journalists consistently to attack the planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 and subsequently covered for the Guardian the devastating evidence of every witness to the Chilcot inquiry. He also enjoyed unique access to a wide array of defence sources, giving him a rare insight into the disputes among top military commanders as they struggled to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with under-resourced and ill-equipped troops. Described by a former senior Intelligence official as a 'long-term thorn in the side of the intelligence establishment', and winner of numerous awards for his journalism, Norton-Taylor is one of the most respected defence and security journalists of his generation. Provocative, and rich in anecdotes, The State of Secrecy is an illuminating, critical and, at times, provocative account of the author's experiences investigating the secret world.

Sunday 30th January 1972: 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead, and another 13 wounded when British soldiers opened fire during an anti-internment civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The 1972 inquiry by Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery - branded the Widgery Whitewash by many - suggested that the soldiers had been fired on first, and that there was a strong suspicion that some of the victims had fired weapons. After a sustained campaign by the families of the victims, and in the light of new material collected by the Irish government, a second inquiry was set up in 1998 as part of the Northern Ireland Peace process. Since March 2000 the Saville Inquiry has heard evidence from over one thousand witnesses, including civilians, military, paramilitary, media, experts and forensic scientists, politicians and civil servants, priests and members of the RUC. This play is a dramatic overview of some of that evidence. Production at the Tricycle Theatre in April 2005.

On 14 September 2003, at the Haitham Hotel in Basra, Iraq, Baha Mousa and nine others were arrested by the British Army as suspected insurgents. Two days later Baha Mousa was dead. A post-mortem examination revealed that he had suffered from asphyxiation, and had received at least 93 injuries to his body whilst in the Army's custody. In 2008 the Secretary of State for Defence announced a Public Inquiry into Baha Mousa's death and the treatment of those detained with him. Tactical Questioning brings together scenes from the Public Inquiry which examined the shocking events that took placeover those two days of detention, and the British Army's policies towards the treatment of detainees.This production coincides with the publishing of the Inquiry's findings in Summer 2011.

In 1993, black teenager Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death in a racist attack by a gang of white youths. The police investigation failed to provide sufficient evidence to convict. Based on the harrowing transcripts of the public inquiry, this is a dramatic reconstruction of the first hearings which reflected the national outcry at the police's mishandling of the case. First seen at the Tricycle Theatre, London, this remarkable production received instant acclaim and subsequently transferred to the West End.