Saturday, March 13, 2010 On Monday I was on Tony Livesey's late night chat show on Five Live. My direct opponent was councillor Pat Karney, NHS director of Smoke Free North West.
One or two of you have heard it already. For those who haven't, The Big Yin recorded it and has kindly given me the code to reproduce it here.
Monday, March 8, 2010 Well, I enjoyed a bit of a humdinger with my old friend Deborah Arnott of ASH on the BBC News Channel on Saturday.
Great fun. See for yourself HERE. (Apologies for the picture/sound quality.)
H/T Dave Atherton.
Dave, it was your comment on THIS post (which I read on my iPhone moments before going on air) that prompted my reference to the Irish Times article.
As you can see, it went down a treat!
Simon Clark
PS. I almost didn't make it to the studio in time. I went to the WRONG address because no-one told me that the BBC had moved to new premises (the other side Cambridge) three months ago!
So there I was, standing outside an empty building, when I got a call asking me where I was. It was 4.20 and I was due on in ten minutes!
Fortunately the producers managed to delay the item. This allowed me to drive across town as fast as I could and I was on air - slightly breathless - at 4.47.
Can you tell?
Simon Clark
I'm not sure if I should mention this but a News Channel producer later rang me and left this message:
"Simon, that was among the most entertaining pieces of TV that we've seen all day, and very informative and balanced ... We really appreciate your input, so thank you very much for participating. We really hope to do business with you again sometime soon."
I've always liked the BBC!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Better late than never, you can see me on BBC Breakfast with Duncan Bannatyne (January 14, above) by clicking on this link HERE.
During the interview Bannatyne denied having written that a 12-year-old boy should be able to call the police if his mother lit up in a car while he was present. The transcript reads:
SIMON CLARK
Duncan mentioned there this example of a 12 year old boy whose mother smokes in the car. In an article Duncan wrote he actually said that boy should be able to go to the police. Now what type of society ...
DUNCAN BANNATYNE:
That’s not true Simon, that’s not true, that’s not true.
SIMON CLARK:
You wrote that in an article.
DUNCAN BANNATYNE:
No I didn’t. I was asked a question: how would you police that ...
BILL TURNBULL:
Right, it’s your view though isn’t it.
DUNCAN BANNATYNE:
Well children at the age of 12 should be allowed to live an existence that is smoke free and not have people blowing ...
BILL TURNBULL:
So should they ... do you really think children should be able to report their parents to the police if they do that?
DUNCAN BANNATYNE:
I believe, unlike Simon, I am for smokers, I believe that smokers are 90% good, law-abiding citizens and I believe they will obey the law, and they will see the law and they will stop, and you know if they don’t they will be seen by police officers and other people, the children won’t have to go to the police. You know, people said this about seat belts, you can’t introduce seat belts, how will you police it? You can police it, it’s not a problem, but most smokers will stop smoking with children in the back when it’s against the law.
FACT: writing in the Observer (October 11, 2009), Bannatyne declared unequivocally:
Smoking should be banned in cars, and particularly any vehicle with children in it. On a school visit I met a 12-year-boy who wanted to be an athlete who told me that every morning his mother lit up when she was driving to school, even though he'd begged her to stop. He should be able to report her to the police [my emphasis].
"Not true", eh, Duncan? I suggest you get your facts straight next time.
Full article HERE.
Friday, May 1, 2009 Chris Snowdon, whose book Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: A History of Anti-Smoking will be published next month, has drawn my attention to the Radio 4 programme Heresy "which challenges established ideas and questions received wisdom".
This week's programme included some debate about the smoking ban. Panellists included comedians Frank Skinner and Arthur Smith so it was quite entertaining. You can listen to it for another four days HERE. It starts approximately 11 minutes 50 seconds in.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 
You may remember that I appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV1) last month. Here I am with News of the World columnist Carole Malone and former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
The producers sent me a clip which we have just uploaded on to The Free Society Facebook page. You can view it HERE.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 
You'll have to forgive me, but I'm still on a bit of a high. I've been on chat shows before - including The Late Edition on BBC4 when fellow guests included Tony Blackburn and Shami Chakrabarti - but yesterday was rather different (a bigger dressing room, for a start).
The first thing to say about The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV, weekdays, 3.00pm), is that it's broadcast from BBC Television Centre. The same studio, in fact, that they use for Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. That means a decent-sized set and an audience of perhaps 300 people on two levels, giving it the feel of a small theatre.
A car collected me from my office in Soho and 30 minutes later I was in make-up having every imperfection touched up or covered up. (HDTV is going to be hell for people like me!) I could hear one of the other guests - Strictly Come Dancing's Anton du Beke - holding court in an adjoining room. His dancing partner, Erin Boag, was in make up alongside me and actress Nanette Newman.
In addition to yesterday's live show, they were recording items for Thursday and Friday when the broadcast shows are pre-recorded. So while I was in make-up, Jodie Prenger - who plays Nancy in Oliver! - was on stage doing her bit, and other guests who weren't in yesterday's programme were likewise coming and going.
From make-up I was taken to my dressing room. And it's not often I get to say that. In fact, before yesterday, I have only once been given a dressing room - and there was barely room to swing a cat (without hitting the Teasmaid).
This time, as you can see from the pictures above and below, it was positively palatial. What you can't see are the sofas and the wall-mounted flatscreen TV. So I settled down to watch the start of the show (which featured Tony "Amarillo" Christie).
After 15 minutes a runner came to get me and I was taken backstage to meet former London mayor Ken Livingstone and News of the World columnist Carole Malone. Together, we were going to discuss the Chief Medical Officer's proposal to raise the minimum price of alcohol.
And then we were on. Does Britain have a drinking problem, asked Alan Titchmarsh. No, I replied firmly. There are problem areas but the issue of binge-drinking has been exaggerated. Yes, said Ken and Carole, Britain does have a problem, but while Livingstone supported the CMO's idea, Carole didn't. Nor did I.
It was a short, sharp debate, lively but never heated. And it was clear whose side the audience was on. Ours. At different moments Carole and I even got a round of applause. (Warm, spontaneous applause from a live studio audience! You have no idea how good that feels.)
Afterwards we retired to the green room for a glass of champagne and a quick chat with other guests including Kelvin Mackenzie, former editor of the Sun, Nanette Newman and her daughter, TV presenter Emma Forbes.
We were joined, briefly, by Alan himself who was as friendly off stage as he was on it.
Light entertainment? It's addictive.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 I'm doing a pre-recorded interview tonight, to be broadcast on Five Live's Morning Reports tomorrow. I can't say what it's about because the story (such as it is) is embargoed until 05.30. All I can say is, it's the usual anti-smoking nonsense. Not that any of you will be awake to hear it ... the programme starts at 5.00.
Update: as luck would have it, I shall be driving south on the A1 at 5.00am tomorrow so I will be one of a handful of people listening. I've just done the interview (I had a bit of a rant) and I'm still not sure what the "story" is. All will be revealed ...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 Well, the government has finally announced that it intends to ban the display of tobacco in shops. I'll comment on this further when I get a moment (probably tomorrow). In the meantime I'm in London, dashing from Television Centre to the Millbank studios in Westminster to Broadcasting House and back to Millbank in order to give Forest's side of the story.
So far I've been on Five Live, BBC1 Breakfast, BBC News, Channel 4 News and three local stations (BBC Radio London, Newcastle and Cambridge).
This afternoon I'm being interviewed for the BBC's Six O'Clock News. After that I'll be alone in a small studio at Western House off Great Portland Street talking to no fewer than twelve BBC local radio stations. Some of these interviews are live, others are pre-recorded. Full running order (with times):
1530 Sussex
1538 West Midlamds
1545 Stoke
1552 Nottingham
1600 Cumbria
1608 Wales
1615 Hereford and Worcester
1622 Northampton
1630 Leeds
1638 Lincolnshire
1645 Derby
1652 Berkshire
After that I hope to go home because I've been up since 3.00am and, worse, I've got an absolutely stinking cold!
BTW, you can see me on the BBC News channel HERE.
Monday, December 8, 2008 Busy day tomorrow. Early risers can hear me on Five Live's Morning Reports, followed by BBC Breakfast. Then, if all goes to plan, Channel 4 News. And IRN. No prizes for guessing what I'll be talking about. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 I have just been watching the second in a series of programmes on Channel 4 called Battlefront TV. The series offers a platform to 20 young campaigners who want to "save the world".
Today’s show, one of ten, featured 17-year-old Zander Percival, a very personable teenager who suffers from asthma and wants to ban smoking in cars with children under the age of 16. His TV-funded campaign is called You Smoke I Choke and it features the animation above which includes the line, "I love my mummy, but when she smokes I choke. Why is she killing me"?
Battlefront TV is made by Raw Television. Eight weeks ago they sent us the following email:
The programme in question is about a young man who is strongly anti-smoking and who wants to have a law passed to ban smoking in cars with under-16s. It is a personal cause which he wants to take to the highest level. As part of his research, he would really like to talk to someone who could be a ‘devil's advocate', since to take it to parliament, he is likely to encounter fierce opposition.
It would also be an opportunity for him to learn more about the civil liberties aspect of this subject, and for the audience in general to appreciate that such a stance exists. It would be great to be able to talk to you or one of your associates in order to get a balanced view of the subject.
I thought about it for a day or two but I wasn't sure I wanted to be seen arguing with a 17-year-old asthmatic on national television. Wendie, the producer, rang to reassure me. Eventually I suggested that Zander speak not to me but to someone with equally strong views who was much closer to his own age. Someone, in fact, like Suzy Dean of the Manifesto Club who features in THIS Free Society video.
Wendie loved the idea - and arranged a 20 minute "debate" featuring Suzy and Zander in front of an audience. Audience? What audience? Alarm bells ringing, I cautioned Suzy to be careful. I needn't have worried. Come the day Zander had no answer to Suzy's well-delivered arguments and when it came to a vote there was a clear winner (and it wasn't the 17-year-old founder of You Smoke I Choke).
"They'll never show it," Suzy told me later. And do you know what? She was right. Or, to put it another way: "They cut me from the programme! I'm not surprised."
Nor me.
Simon Clark
One explanation for Suzy's non-appearance could be the fact that viewers had already seen Zander's campaign seriously undermined by several of his classmates playing devil's advocate. Had they featured Suzy as well it would have killed the campaign stone dead. Odd, however, that the outcome of their debate doesn't even merit a mention in his campaign blog. Equally strange is the fact that a self-confessed asthmatic (viewers were shown all Zander's medication) should stage a PR stunt that required him to sit in a small car thick with smoke (courtesy of a smoke machine) with no apparent ill effects. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Funny, that.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 I found myself in a bit of a quandary yesterday. I got a call from Talksport asking me to do an interview about the display of tobacco in shops.
I told the producer I was in two minds. I object strongly to Jon Gaunt's sacking so I was in no mood to do any interviews for the station. On the other hand, I don't want to cut my nose off to spite my face. My job is to promote Forest's point of view and I wouldn't be doing that if I boycotted Talksport or any other media outlet. (And, let's be honest, who would care?)
While we were talking I mentioned that I had written to Talksport MD Scott Taunton and programme controller Moz Dee about Gaunt's sacking and I had yet to receive an acknowledgement, let alone a proper reply.
The producer suggested a compromise. If I agreed to appear on the late night programme, she would send an email to Moz Dee drawing his attention to my concerns.
Well, I kept my side of the bargain and appeared, briefly, shortly after 10.30 last night. Needless to say I am still waiting to hear from Moz Dee. I won't be holding my breath.
PS. Deborah Arnott, director of ASH, was also on the programme last night, but not at the same time. I understand she got a real grilling from listeners. Huge public support for a display ban? I don't think so.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 I'm on BBC Radio Manchester tomorrow morning (8.07 to be exact) wearing my Free Society hat. The government is due to announce new laws concerning prostitution so I've been asked to discuss the use of legislation to regulate people's behaviour.
I have just recorded a comment for a trailer to be broadcast an hour earlier, at seven. This is what I said (more or less):
"There have to be some laws to protect those who can't protect themselves, but politicians today are guilty of over-regulation. Increasingly they are trying to dictate every aspect of our lives. They are restricting and even criminalising freedom of choice.
"They tell us we shouldn't smoke and ban smoking in every pub and private members' club in the country. If we ignore the ban they take us to court and fine us.
"They tell us how many units of alcohol we should drink each week, and if we exceed their guidelines they call us binge-drinkers and call for a ban on low price alcohol.
"Prohibition doesn't work. There are some things that will never go away. Banning something drives it underground. Government loses all control and the only people who benefit are the criminal gangs."
If I get a chance I will say that politicians are among the last people who should moralise about our behaviour. Let them get their own house in order before they tell the rest of us how to live our lives.
The other guest is Stewart Dakers who writes for the Guardian. Should be interesting.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 Earlier this week I was due to be interviewed by BBC1's The Politics Show. Subject: the government's plans for future tobacco controls including a ban on the display of tobacco in shops.
On Tuesday one of the producers rang to cancel the interview. Instead, they were going to interview shadow health spokesmen Mike Penning (Conservative) and Norman Lamb (Lib Dem) who I was told are critical of the government's proposals re point of sale etc. (This was news to me.)
"I'm sure you'll agree that it is much stronger to have the Forest arguments made by elected politicians, and hope you'll forgive me when I say that there just isn't room in the film for all of you to appear."
Hmmm. One problem with this arrangement is that The Politics Show could end up with a report that reflects the views of the political establishment and ignores the views of the consumer and the small retailer (the two groups who will be most affected by the government's proposals).
If, however, the Tories and Lib Dems really are opposed to a ban on tobacco display and other measures, that can only be good news. We'll see. The Politics Show is on BBC1 at midday today.
Simon Clark
The Telegraph picked up the story - which was released by the BBC in advance of today's programme - HERE. To be fair, "Tories to oppose tobacco restrictions" is bigger news than "Smokers lobby group opposes tobacco restrictions". Let's hope they (and the Lib Dems) oppose the government's proposals with genuine conviction and not just for party political gain. Or am I being hopelessly naive?
Simon Clark
Interestingly, although both the Telegraph and the Express covered the story (crediting The Politics Show as the source of the Lamb/Penning comments), it has yet to appear on the BBC news website. Why would they keep quiet about their own "scoop"?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 Last Monday I gave a ten minute interview to Play Radio UK. No, I hadn't heard of it either, but it claims to be "the largest new media broadcasting organisation in the country and the fourth largest in the world".
I was interviewed by Tommy Boyd, the former Five Live, TalkSport and BBC London presenter who began his career on children's TV. We talked about the impact of the smoking ban and the war on tobacco, and it was all very friendly and relaxed.
Last night I was invited back to talk about speed cameras (my pet hate) and Big Brother-style surveillance. This time Tommy was in shock jock mode and was determined to poor scorn on everything I said. We had a bit of a ding-dong and I enjoyed that too.
Then again, who actually listens to internet radio?
