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.

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

I was timid and frightened as a child. Yours truly did not shin up mountains or do any other kind of adventurous stuff.

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

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

I keep telling myself to calm down, to take less of an interest in things and not to get so excited, but I still care a lot about liberty, freedom of speech and expression, and fairness in journalism.

I don't want to be involved in endless media gossip.