Published in The Guardian (January 11th, 2013) According to the latest figures there are 83,632 locked up in English and Welsh prisons. This is an obscenely large number […]
Africa / Aid / General
Aid groups have blinded Britain to the realities of Africa
Published in The Independent (January 9th, 2013) Recep Erdogan, the astute prime minister of Turkey, is on a tour of Africa. His entourage includes 300 business leaders from […]
Economics / Housing / Policy
We must make it easier to build homes in London
Published in the London Evening Standard (January 4th, 2013) There are plans for a handful of new houses in my neck of north London. It is a modest […]
Aid / Haiti / World
Disastrous relief for Haiti
Published in The Guardian (December 31st, 2012) Almost three years ago, Haiti was hit by an earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people in 35 seconds of unimaginable terror. […]
Politics
Churches’ hostility to gay marriage only underlines their impotence
Published in The Independent (December 28th, 2012) Like millions of other Roman Catholics, Ruth Hunt attended mass on Christmas Day. She was joined by about 150 other devotees at […]
Health / Policy
NHS privatisation fears? Grow up
Published in The Guardian (December 21, 2012) Nearly one in five patients having hip replacements and hernia repairs are handled by private companies, thanks to reforms introduced by the […]
Immigration / Politics
Confront the pessimistic protest politics of UKIP
Published in the London Evening Standard (December 19th, 2012) Nick Clegg has made a lot of noise this week, celebrating his fifth anniversary as Liberal Democrat leader with […]
Immigration / Policy / Race
We have nothing to fear from our Muslim citizens
Published in the London Evening Standard (December 11th, 2012) Shortly after the end of his first term in office, Liberal leader William Gladstone penned a pamphlet against Catholicism. […]
Disability / Health / Policy
What the NHS needs even more than money – a dose of kindness
Published in The Daily Mail (December 5th, 2012) Even today, 19 years on, I can still remember every second of the day my world crashed in. It was […]
Disability
Put people with learning difficulties at the core of society
Published in The Observer (December 2nd, 2012) Another day, another outbreak of hand-wringing over how to protect vulnerable people from abuse in so-called care homes. Yesterday, it was […]
Africa / Congo / Rwanda
Gaza grabs the headlines as Congo once more descends into chaos
Published in The Observer (November 25th, 2012) Once again, the apparently insoluble struggle between Israel and Palestine has flared up before flickering into uneasy standoff. As usual, world […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea / Politics
When naive good intentions meet corrupt kleptocracy
Published in The Independent (November 24th, 2012) Having been flown over on the luxurious presidential jet, we sat for a while in a hotel bar, watching a local […]