The quicker we get rid of the lobby system the better for all of us. I don't think in this day and age it is tenable to have these nods and winks, and on-the-record and off-the-record briefings.

Actually, I think it's quite sensible not to take yourself too seriously.

I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short

There are hard choices to be made in balancing the country's security and an individual's liberties. But it is a choice that has to be faced.

My favourite novel is Frederick Forsythe's Day Of The Jackal, the story about the unproven case of this apparent Englishman who was hired to assassinate De Gaulle….

For any new leader of any party at any given time it takes time if you are not in government to establish yourself.

We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.