This is the text of a letter I sent to the Financial Times on 7/10.16 – not published: The Western media have reported at length on conditions in Aleppo, usually from the rebel anti-government side. Writing from Lebanon and Turkey, they have reflected the views of Al Arabya and Al-Jazeera. They have also described military…
Fracking was in the news today, as government approval was given to fracking sites in Lancashire, despite the widespread local opposition to it, and against the wishes of the County Council. I am not surprised. Government spokespersons bombard us with promises of plans for local democracy and consultation; councils promise residents that their wishes will be…
How many train companies across Europe require Brompton bikes to be put into bags before they are allowed on the train? Answer only one – Eurostar! And up to January 2016, only when travelling from London. Since this date, apparently this applies when you are travelling out from Paris, as I found to my cost…
Infrastructure needs its own checks and balances Lord Berkeley – presentation to All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure, 6 September 2016. Infrastructure needs its own checks and balances Lord Berkeley – presentation to All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure, 6 September 2016. I want to reflect today on the role both of the…
The UK has done brilliantly at the Olympic Games. At the time of writing, we have 55 medals at a cost of £6.3m each, based on the investment of some £347m into elite sport since the last Olympics. The UK has a winning sports strategy. Young people are spotted, monitored, put into special programmes, encouraged to win,…
I received this article from a long standing friend in the Philippines. He is a missionary with many years experience of rescuing and rehabilitating children and young people at serious risk of a lifetime of prostitution and drug dependency. His articles appear in publications in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Ireland.
Monday 11th July was the anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, carried out in Bosnia in 1995. I signed the Book of Remembrance in the House of Commons, and attended a Memorial Reception at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Several survivors spoke of their memories of this, the most serious crime in a long process of…
Many peers would have received today an e mail, reproduced below, from 272 UK expats working and living in the EU. No doubt similar concerns are raised from the millions of EU nationals living and working in the UK. The Tory party created this awful mess affecting millions of people’s lives as well as our own…
Like millions of my compatriots I shall be spending August and September in front of the television screen cheering on Team GB athletes as they compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is a time of national pride for athletes and spectators alike. For athletes their years of dedicated training may result in the raising…
