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Fresh in the bookshops in Spain, the latest from right-wing historian Ricardo de las Ciervas, much given to angry assaults on the inaccuracies allegedly committed by others. First off in this volume is an attack on Paul Preston's biography of Franco, which begins by pointing out that Professor Preston originates from Liverpool ("The city of the Beatles") and appears to regard this as a material element in the indictment. Too bad he could not wait for the appointment of Paul Heywood to the chair in politics at Nottingham.?

This would have confirmed that the conspiracy is worse than he feared - it is no use hoping to be a highly-rated British commentator on Spain unless you are called Paul and named after somewhere in Lancashire.