I was brought up in the War. I was an adolescent in the Second World War. And I did witness in London a great deal of the Blitz.

The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law.

A writer's life is a highly vulnerable, almost naked activity. We don't have to weep about that. The writer makes his choice and is stuck with it. But it is true to say that you are open to all the winds, some of them icy indeed. You are out on your own, out on a limb. You find no shelter, no protection - unless you lie - in which case of course you have constructed your own protection and, it could be argued, become a politician.

Clinton's hands remain incredibly clean, don't they, and Tony Blair's smile remains as wide as ever. I view these guises with profound contempt.

There are some good rules and there are some lousy rules.

When you lead a life of scholarship you can't be bothered with the humorous realities, you know, tits, that kind of thing.

While The United States is the most powerful nation the world has ever seen, it is also the most detested nation that the world has ever known.