Published by The Times (5th May, 2017) Last month a 29-year-old woman named Mariam al-Oteibi attempted to flee her abusive family in Riyadh, only to be captured by […]
Drugs / Policy
Britain must catch up in the use of medical marijuana
Published by The Times (25th April, 2017) Tricia Reed worked for a big chain of chemists in the US, until she became fed up with supplying thousands of […]
Aid / Politics
MPs can’t afford to ignore the millions we waste on aid
Published by The Times (29th March, 2017) Can you guess the big problem with Britain’s aid spending? It is not the appalling waste, the insidious corruption, the persistent […]
Economics / Politics
The self-employed shouldn’t be stung with more taxes
Published by The Times (7th March, 2017) Seven years ago I joined the swelling ranks of self-employed workers in Britain after a quarter century in the corporate world. […]
Africa / Aid / Rwanda
Stop the flow of cash to Rwanda’s despotic regime
Published in The Times (May 23rd, 2011) Somehow, we never seem to learn. This year, we have seen seismic uprisings in North Africa expose the shabby foundations of […]
Health / Policy / Politics
Patients are being betrayed. Don’t retreat from reform
Published in The Times (May 11th, 2011) For those of us forced to deal with the daily realities of healthcare in Britain, Nick Clegg has been an admirable […]
Bahrain / World
Wedding guests whose presence shames the nation
Published in The Times (April 28th, 2011) Tomorrow’s royal wedding is not a state occasion, say Palace officials, just a private event for Wills and Kate. Total nonsense, […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea
Africa’s despots fear the gales will blow south
Published in The Times (March 11th, 2011) Juan Pedro Mendene was midway through his weekly radio programme, ironically called Total Relaxation, when the live broadcast was interrupted by his […]
Africa / Libya
‘Mad dog’ Gaddafi won’t go without a fight
Published in The Times (February 17th, 2011) So is it really possible that the next regime to fall in this astonishing winter of protests could be the mad […]
Disability / Politics
Cameron is not the villain in this tragic case
Published in The Times (January 21st, 2011) My daughter did not sleep last night. Granted, she is a teenager, so that might not be unusual. But rather than […]
Politics
Why Cameron is inviting a Viking invasion
Published in The Times (January 19th, 2011) For decades the British Left was held captive by Stockholm syndrome. It looked at Sweden and saw paradise on Earth — […]
Arts / Economics / Music
Record sales plummet but the music plays on
Published in The Times (October 22nd, 2010) The deeply wonderful Elvis Costello has a new record out. It is available as a download, on CD, on vinyl and […]