Published in The Guardian (October 9th, 2010) My first task after joining David Cameron’s team earlier this year was to help with a major speech to go with […]
Disability
Caring for our disabled daughter can be terrifying but she’s enriched our lives beyond measure
Published in the Daily Mail (October 5th, 2010) My daughter swam by herself the other day. Well, when I say swam, she floated. But by herself, her long […]
Policy
The kindest cuts of all
Published in The Guardian (October 1st, 2010) Here is a question for all who believe our public services are sacred. Why is there no suitable education or housing […]
Crime / Disability / Policy
The epidemic of hate crimes against the very vulnerable reveals a callousness at the heart of society
Published in the Daily Mail (September 22nd, 2010) David Askew was a kind and trusting man who just wanted to enjoy his life. He smiled a lot, put […]
Education / Policy / United States / World
Lessons from the flood
Published in The Sunday Telegraph (September 12, 2010) Five years ago, America was struggling to come to terms with the destruction of New Orleans. The nation was stunned […]
Arts / Books / Kashmir
Caught in the crossfire
Published in The Spectator (July 24th, 2010) Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer (Harper Press) Maqbool Sheikh dreaded hearing a knock at the door of his home. For he […]
Haiti / World
Throw open our doors to Haitians
Published in The Independent (January 28th, 2010) Two weeks on, and they are still pulling people from the living hell of entombment in the rubble of Port-au-Prince. Each […]
Aid / Haiti
Death, disaster and a shocking reality
Published in The Independent (January 16th, 2010) Around the world, presidents and prime ministers mouth platitudes about sharing the pain of Haiti. But they should consider a simple […]
Europe / Iceland
It is counter-productive to humiliate another nation
Published in The Independent (January 7th, 2010) Sitting amid the trawlers in Reykjavik harbour is a solitary gunboat, a reminder of what happened when Britain and Iceland last […]
Economics
The economist who got it right
Published in The Independent (January 6th, 2010) As we stand on the cusp of this new decade, shivering in the snow and contemplating a general election in a […]
Europe / Iceland / Travel
The island at the heart of the world
Published in The Independent (December 26th, 2009) My hands were freezing as we lumbered across the lava fields, swaddled in several layers of clothing, clad in thick neoprene […]