I have never been attracted to any kind of violence.

I have never been attracted to any kind of violence.

On the Northern Ireland question, for instance, the British and Irish governments prohibit media contact with members of the IRA, but we have always gone ahead, believing in the right to information.

I also read modern novels - I have just had to read 60 as I am one of the judges for the Orange Fiction Prize.

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.

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

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