But in the first Gulf war the United Kingdom was not under any threat from Iraq, and is still less so in the second one. Then there is no justification for obstructing freedom of information, particularly as nations have a right to know what their soldiers are being used for.

Up until about 12 years ago we never, ever, wore flak jacket or helmets but now the nastiness has got worse.

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.

In any war, there is a concealment of certain kinds of setbacks because it's propaganda for the enemy.

I wrote in the book very specifically what I wanted to write about, period, and left it at.

I have never been attracted to any kind of violence.

It's totally mistaken to suppose that an armed escort is going to give a journalist any protection - on the contrary, journalists who turn up surrounded by armed personnel are just turning themselves into targets and in even worse danger.