You know how I like to tell you about my customer service experiences, both good and bad. On Thursday I was asked to stand in for Lewis Goodall this morning on LBC. I always like doing the Sunday morning slot, so I was happy to do it, but I explained that I was speaking in St Albans on Saturday night and I knew the trains from Tonbridge were up the spout on Sunday because of engineering works. So LBC booked a hotel room for the through Booking.com. On Saturday afternoon, I rang the hotel to explain that I’d probably be arriving quite late, so could they make a note and ensure the room was not ..read more

There’s nothing like kicking a man when he’s down, is there? Having resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury for his handling of child abuse claims, Justin Welby (and other religious leaders) now stands accused of being responsible for Britain’s growing obesity epidemic. Yes, you read that right. And who is his accuser? None other than the ever corpulent and purveyor of oversized memoirs, one Boris Johnson. According to our esteemed former prime minister, who was interviewed as part of a report on public health before Welby resigned, the Church of Engla ..read more

We’ve just spent our last night at our Norfolk house. I sit here in the rather bare vaulted sitting room typing this on the red sofa, with faithful Dude by my side. My friend Dan is on his way up in a huge can to collect the rest of our furniture and belongings. In a few hours, I’ll walk out of the door for the last time. I’m almost in tears as I type this. I know it’s the end of an era – but it will never be the end of a love for Norfolk that lies deep within me. My mother spent her teenage years living in a farm in Stibbard, not far from Fakenham. We would come to the Norfolk coast for day ..read more

This is an interview I did for the Benenden Hospital website HERE. LBC Broadcaster and author Iain Dale had a gallbladder removal at Benenden Hospital on 6 September after using his private health cover to reduce his 18-week wait time. "As I speak now on 22 October, I feel completely rejuvenated – I genuinely feel like I’m 35 again!”. Read on to discover Iain’s story. What were the main symptoms you had prior to gallbladder removal surgery? “At the end of July, I’d been enjoying some drinks and canapes with my neighbours. When I got home, I started to feel sick, and a pain ..read more

This article first appeared in the iNewspaper on Wednsday 20 November One of the miracles of the modern media world is that not only did the advent of TV and video not kill off radio, nor has the advent of the internet and podcasts. Yes, radio has changed, and what we used to know as local radio has all but been killed off, but otherwise the radio sector is in fine fettle. 90% of adults in the UK tune in to a radio station at least once a week. Most UK radio is personality driven, and nowhere is this more true that in the highly competitive world of Breakfast radio. As a radio station, if your ..read more

This article first appeared in the iNewspaper. Watching a wounded animal in its death throes is never an edifying experience, and that is exactly how it’s felt observing the Archbishop of Canterbury failing to recognise, until now, that he was stipendiary toast, that his position was untenable, and that his resignation was an inevitability. The longer he dragged it out, the worse it got for him. He has now done the right thing and resigned. Welby stands accused of knowing about the serial abuse of children by John Smyth QC, but not taking it seriously enough to report him to the poli ..read more

It’s almost as if on 5 July Labour strategists had sat down and discussed with each other how they could offend the largest number of people in the shortest possible time. First, it was the nine million pensioners who will be losing their winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300. This week, it’s the millions of bus users who will see their bus fares rise by a whopping 50 per cent. In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister announced the bus fare price cap of £2 would increase to £3. Is it any wonder that Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have gone from +11 per cent on 5 July to a truly t ..read more

iNews column Take two world wars out of the equation and Britain and Germany have always been relatively close allies. The two countries have a shared history, not least the fact that the Germans gave us our Royal Family 300 years ago; that development alone should not be underestimated when evaluating the state of Anglo-German relations today. On Tuesday Britain and Germany signed a defence pact, similar to the one Britain has with France. It’s significant for all sorts of reasons, and not just to do with mutual support in defence policy. The two countries will work together on developing dro ..read more

Watching Phillip Schofield baring his soul on the Channel 5 show ‘Cast Away’ is something I watched so you don’t have to. For the uninitiated he was sent to a desert island off Madgascar, alone, with no cameraman or sound person. His task was to survive for ten days and to record his thoughts on what has happened to him. It’s not an easy watch. Indeed, I’m not sure Channel 5 have covered themselves in glory in that they have a duty of care towards Schofield and he is clearly not of balanced mind. He mouths the words ‘What I did was unwise’ but there’s no recognition that it was also wrong. Wat ..read more

The news of the death of Alex Salmond has come as such a shock to everyone who knew him. I heard the news from my LBC boss as I was driving home on the M25. I couldn’t believe it. Alex was such a force of nature, the kind of person who you might imagine could survive death, if you see what I mean. The thought of him collapsing after making a speech in North Macedonia is too awful to think about.   I first interviewed Alex Salmond back in 2008 when I spent a couple of hours talking to him for Total Politics magazine. The interview created quite a storm when it was published, mainly becau ..read more