Credit: West Midlands Police
Search
17 Mar 2026
Search
17 Mar 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Author Len Deighton, best known for his spy novels including The Ipcress File, has died at the age of 97.
His death was confirmed to the Press Association by his literary agent but no cause of death was given.
The Ipcress File was Deighton’s first and most famous novel and featured a nameless spy – later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the film starring Sir Michael Caine in one of his most famous roles.
The book broke the mould of thriller writing and featured a wisecracking working-class narrator and a mission that turned into a deadly conspiracy as he uncovered a bizarre brain drain among scientists.
The film adaptation, released in 1965 and directed by Sidney J Furie, was recently remade as TV series starring Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole.
Deighton wrote another 38 books, including a number of historical books about the Second World War and a further series of spy novels.
He was also a cookery writer and helped to introduce French cuisine to the UK.
In addition, he was a keen illustrator and illustrated more than 200 book covers, including the first UK edition of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
