Editing Simon Jenkins (section)

====Opinions====
In April 2009, ''The Guardian'' withdrew one of Jenkins's articles from its website after [[African National Congress]] leader and South African president-elect [[Jacob Zuma]] sued the paper for defamation.<ref name="M&G">{{cite news|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-04-14-zuma-sues-londons-guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415233214/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-04-14-zuma-sues-londons-guardian |title=Zuma sues London's Guardian|date=14 April 2009|work=[[Mail & Guardian]] |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' issued an apology,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/guardian-forced-apologise-jacob-zuma/900365 |title=Guardian forced to apologise to Jacob Zuma |first=Ben |last=Bold |work=[[Campaign (magazine)|Campaign]] |date=22 April 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/21/corrections-jacob-zuma |title=Corrections and clarifications: Jacob Zuma |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> and settled the libel case for an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-safrica-zuma/south-africas-zuma-accepts-libel-damages-from-uk-paper-idUSTRE56T3GS20090730 |title=South Africa's Zuma accepts libel damages from UK paper |work=[[Reuters]] |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/zuma-wins-damages-from-uk-newspaper-453434 |title=Zuma wins damages from UK newspaper |first=Karyn |last=Maughan |work=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]] |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref>

In February 2010, Jenkins argued in a ''Guardian'' article that British control over the [[Falkland Islands]] was an "expensive legacy of empire" and should be handed over to the [[Government of Argentina|Argentinian government]].<ref name="expensive nuisance">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/25/falklands-britains-expensive-nuisance |title=The Falklands can no longer remain as Britain's expensive nuisance |first=Simon |last=Jenkins |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 February 2010 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> He argued that they could be leased back under the supervision of the [[United Nations]] and that the 2,500 or so [[Falkland Islanders]] should not have "an unqualified veto on British government policy".<ref name="expensive nuisance"/>

In a piece in ''The Guardian'' in June 2010 he wrote that the government should "cut [defence], all £45 billion of it. ... With the end of the [[Cold War]] in the 1990s that threat [of global communism] vanished."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/08/cuts-armed-services-fantasy-enemies |title=My once-in-a-generation cut? The armed forces. All of them
|first=Simon |last=Jenkins |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=8 June 2010 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> In August 2016 he wrote in ''The Guardian'' in support of [[NATO]] membership, saying: "It is a real deterrent, and its plausibility rests on the assurance of collective response".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/19/jeremy-corbyn-dismissal-nato-trident |title=Jeremy Corbyn's dismissal of Nato is a step too far |first=Simon |last=Jenkins |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 August 2016 |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>

Jenkins claims to have voted for the UK to remain within the European Union in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]], arguing in ''The Guardian'' that leaving would provide Germany with dominance over the remainder of the union: "It would leave Germany effectively alone at the head of Europe, alternately hesitant and bullying".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/16/german-dominance-remain-eu-referendum-britain-votes-stay|title=I fear German dominance. That's why I'm for remaining in the EU|first=Simon |last=Jenkins |date=16 June 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref>

Soon after [[Rishi Sunak]] became Prime Minister, Jenkins wrote that his aides were "young, sneakered, tieless image-makers, and fiercely loyal to him."  They were "special advisers, thinktanks and lobby groups isolated from the world outside."<ref name=guardian-20221107>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/07/rishi-sunak-margaret-thatcher-wise-advice-backbenches |title=Rishi Sunak has surrounded himself with yes-men. What he really needs is a Willie |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 November 2022 |access-date=5 March 2024}}</ref>

Jenkins has consistently argued against Western military intervention in and support for Ukraine in the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]. Before the outbreak of the Russian invasion in January 2022, amid heightened tensions, Jenkins wrote a pair of columns arguing that the United Kingdom should stay out of the "border dispute", one he argues is a direct result of '[[NATO]] expansionism'.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2022-01-24 |title=A measure of autonomy in eastern Ukraine is the only way out of this crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/24/autonomy-eastern-ukraine-crisis-nato-russia-minsk |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2022-01-20 |title=Britain should stay well out of Russia's border dispute with Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/20/britain-russia-ukraine-border-dispute |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In 2023, he wrote a column discouraging the supplying of jets as military aid.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2023-02-09 |title=Zelenskiy wants jets. The west should think very carefully before giving them to him |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/09/zelenskiy-jets-west-ukraine-battlefield-peace |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In early 2024, he wrote that NATO was growing reckless in the conflict, as the war reached a "predictable stalemate".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2024-03-05 |title=Nato is growing reckless over Ukraine – and Russia's German military leak proves it |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/05/nato-ukraine-russia-germany-military-leak |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Jenkins has been criticized for his opinions on Ukraine by many journalists and commentators, examples including [[Mark Laity]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-03-14 |title=Peace in Ukraine has to be fought for |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/14/peace-in-ukraine-has-to-be-fought-for |access-date=2024-07-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and [[Oz Katerji]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Katerji |first=Oz |title=Oz Katerji on X |work=X (formerly Twitter) |url=https://x.com/OzKaterji/status/1681029093452660738}}</ref>

In May 2024, following the [[2024 United Kingdom local elections|local elections]], he wrote calling [[Directly elected mayors in England|metro mayors]] a "farce of local democracy" advocating their abolition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |date=2024-05-06 |title=England's metro mayors make a farce of local democracy. They must be scrapped |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/06/england-metro-mayors-local-democracy-local-politics-keir-starmer |access-date=2024-05-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>