on US air bases from thousands of Iranian missiles, the unleashing of terrorist attacks within the US and Europe, the rocketing of Israeli towns from the tens of thousands of missiles trained on Israel from Lebanon, the closing of the Straits of Hormuz thus paralysing western oil supplies, and doubtless other horrors.

The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith was really terrific on the BBC’s Today programme this morning – calm and persistent and, despite interruptions so bad it was impossible at times to hear what was being said at all, managing to get his point across and convey his essential decency and reasonableness.

When Sasha Laxton was born five years ago, his parents decided they wanted to avoid classifying him as either a boy or a girl. Theyfelt that to do so was a kind of ‘sexual stereotyping’ which had to be avoided at all costs.

Oh, the irony of it! The fear that the Scots are heading for a referendum in which they would vote for independence from England drove the Prime Minister last week to launch a campaign to prevent such an outcome.

About Melanie

Melanie Phillips is a British journalist and author. She is best known
for her controversial column about political and social issues which
currently appears in the Daily Mail. Awarded the Orwell Prize for
journalism in 1996, she is the author of All Must Have Prizes, an
acclaimed study of Britain's educational and moral crisis, which
provoked the fury of educationists and the delight and relief of
parents.