I've never been one to sit around and eat my heart out. Life's too short.

Beslan, where the Russian authorities stopped live coverage of the school being stormed, was an illustration of the progress we still have to make.

It wasn't glamorous in my day. In the regions, reporters were seen as such low life that they didn't merit their name in the Radio Times. Now people are interested in being famous. I never gave it a thought.

The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it.

Hair is also a problem. I remember once, when I was reporting from Beirut at the height of the civil war, someone wrote in to the BBC complaining about my appearance.

I never desired to go into war zones. I never had any thought about it. It sort of just happened as part of the job.

Now children as young as nine carry AK47s which can kill 30 people in seconds.