Murray was educated at St Benedict's School in Ealing in west London, Eton College in Eton, Berkshire, and Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, where he studied English.

At Oxford, aged twenty, he published a biography of Lord Alfred Douglas. This was followed by the writing of a play, Nightfall, based on Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg's attempts to dissuade Adolf Eichmann from implementing the Final Solution.

In 2005 he published a defence of neoconservatism, Neoconservatism: Why We Need It and undertook a related promotional tour of the United States. During the course of this tour he gave an interview to the New York Sun in which he outlined his "instinctive" support for Israel and was dubbed a "self-described neoconservative and Zionist" as well as "Britain's only neoconservative."

In 2007 he assisted in the writing of Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing Transatlantic Partnership by Gen. Dr. Klaus Naumann, Gen. John Shalikashvili, Field Marshal The Lord Inge, Adm. Jacques Lanxade, and Gen. Henk van den Breemen. Upon publication, The Guardian reported that amongst its recommendations were that, as a last resort, NATO should be prepared to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack in order to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Media appearances and journalism

He has appeared on the BBC's Question Time, Newsnight, HardTalk, Today Programme, The Big Questions, BBC Arabic, and has written for The Guardian, The Sunday Times and Standpoint.

Douglas Home memorial prize

Douglas Murray was the winner of the 2009 Charles Douglas-Home memorial prize for journalism. It was awarded for his essay on the growth of sharia law in Britain.