From Caesar's legions to the Napoleonic wars. From the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution to the defeat of nazism. We have helped to write European history, and Europe has helped write ours.

My question right now would be to Colonel Gaddafi, which is: 'What on earth do you think you are doing? Stop it.'

I know the British people and they are not passengers - they are drivers.

The legacy of Mandela is to have brought the country together... South Africa can be one of the success stories of the 21st century.

What we’re putting forward is the most radical reform of the welfare state… for 60 years. I think it will have a transformative effect in making sure that everyone is better off in work and better off working rather than on benefits.

The last thing I'd say is that you can achieve a lot of things in politics. You can get a lot of things done. And that, in the end - the public service, the national interest: that is what it's all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all, as I once said: I was the future once.

The murders in Paris are sickening, we stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press.