Ofcom and the geo-politics of media regulation

Here you can watch extracts of an interview with me on Ofcom and the role it plays in UK broadcast media regulation, on the Al Jazeera programme The Listening Post. The item on Ofcom starts at around 14 minutes.

Another extract from the interview can be watched above.

UK Child Abuse- it’s not the evidence, but who you are that matters

My latest for RT.com OpEdge

The decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to bring charges against the wealthy peer and establishment insider Lord Greville Janner in connection with allegations of child abuse has been met with outrage among the general public and police.
Janner, now 86, has been investigated by the police four times in the last 25 years. More than a dozen people came forward to say that they had been abused by the former MP at children’s homes - but once again he’s been let off the hook - with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) citing as the reason the “severity” of Lord Janner’s dementia.
What makes the decision particularly hard to take is that the CPS openly admits that Janner should have been prosecuted following investigations in the past, and that the charges against him were “extremely serious”.

You can read the whole piece here.

Christians in peril- because of Western foreign policy

My latest column for RT.com OpEdge.

Easter should be a time of celebration for Christians, but for those of the faith living in the Middle East, there hasn’t been too much to celebrate in recent years.
‘Kill the Christians‘ is the title of a new BBC documentary, to be broadcast this week. In it, veteran reporter Jane Corbin travels ‘across the Middle East, to examine why Christianity is facing the greatest threat to its existence. She finds hundreds of thousands of Christians are fleeing Islamic extremists, conflict and persecution’.
It’s a grim story, but for the reason why Christians are so threatened today, we need to look at Western foreign policy.

You can read the whole of the piece here.

The Intelligent Punter's Guide to the 2015 Grand National

Could there be a fairytale ending for the soon-to-be retiring racing legend Tony McCoy in Saturday’s Grand National, due off at 4.15pm and televised live on Channel 4?
If ‘AP’ does win on the favourite Shutthefrontdoor he’s likely to hang up his riding boots there and then. But there are plenty of potential party-poopers in the 40-strong field.
To separate the realistic contenders from the also-rans in the 4 miles 3.5 furlongs Aintree marathon, it’s important to bear in mind these key factors before placing your bets.

You can read the whole of my horse-by-horse guide to tomorrow's Grand National - and the key factors we need to bear in mind before placing our bets, here. While here you can listen to an interview with me on the National and the meeting at Aintree on BBC Radio Wales (starts at 1hr22mins)

Good luck with your selections!

The Intelligent Punter's Guide to the 2015 US Masters Golf

My latest IP Guide in The Week.

The US Masters tees off today. As always, finding the winner - or at least a golfer who will finish in a placed position (top five or six, depending on the bookmaker) – is a daunting proposition. But if we bear in mind certain key factors, we can improve our chances of beating the bookies.

You can read the whole of the Intelligent Punter's Guide here. Good luck if you place a bet!

On Edgar Wallace, Stranger than Fiction, and the poor state of UK politics

You can hear a radio interview with me talking about my new book (and other topics), with Pippa Jones on Talk Radio Europe here. To listen, select 'Friday 3rd April at 13.00-14.00'.