Diplomatic speak

I have been sent a note about yesterday's meeting with John Healey (see previous posts):

Greg Knight MP and David Clelland MP [co-sponsors of the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign] have met with pubs minister John Healey to discuss their concerns, particularly over the smoking ban currently in force.

After the meeting, which lasted 30 minutes, David Clelland said: "The minister listened to our concerns. It is clear he is taking the problems facing pubs and clubs seriously."

Greg Knight added: "He promised to look at a number of initiatives and we asked him to consult as widely as possible during the smoking ban review. He also promised to get back to us on a number of points we raised. It was a good meeting."

If you're feeling a trifle underwhelmed by this report, don't mistake the language of diplomacy for a lack of rigour on the part of Messrs Knight and Clelland. Greg, in particular, feels very strongly about this issue and I have no doubt at all that he will have put our case firmly yet politely.

(Your comments, I should add, have not gone unnoticed but meetings like this call for an element of diplomacy. Perhaps it was better that I wasn't there!)

The good news is that yesterday in parliament a government minister met representatives of a campaign to amend the smoking ban. A small step, perhaps, but a move in the right direction.

The real work meanwhile will begin after the election. Greg is already thinking ahead so bear with us. To support the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign click HERE. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter HERE.

Above (left to right): Greg Knight, John Healey, David Clelland

Minister refuses to meet the man from Forest

Sometimes you've just got to laugh.

Last night, two weeks after it was confirmed that pubs minister John Healey would meet two MPs - Greg Knight and David Clelland - and me to discuss our campaign to amend the smoking ban, Healey's office got cold feet and decided that I couldn't attend today's meeting after all.

I was informed by text at 7:30, just as Coronation Street was about to start.

I don't know whether it was the piece in the Morning Advertiser (original headline: Anti-smoke ban campaigners to meet Healey) or the 120+ comments on this blog that frightened them off, but the result is that I have been barred from attending a meeting that I suggested to discuss a campaign that I organise!!

You couldn't make it up.

I am told that Healey's office is "very apologetic" about the confusion. Funny that, because I have in front of me a letter that states very clearly that the MPs will be accompanied by "campaign organiser Simon Clark". In fact, until last night there was never any suggestion that my presence would be a problem.

Frankly, their protestations that the minister only meets fellow MPs doesn't hold water. And nor should it. HERE, for example, is another minister, Peter Mandelson, meeting representatives of the Fair Pint campaign last week. Now that wasn't so difficult, was it?

The good news is that the meeting goes ahead with Greg and David representing the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign. Report and photo to follow.

Above: Greg Knight, yours truly and others (including Antony Worrall Thompson) at the launch of the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign last year.

Now there's a thought: do you think Healey would have refused to meet AWT because he's not an MP either?

Questions for the pub minister

Blogging will be light today. Tomorrow I've got a meeting with pubs minister John Healey so I shall be spending most of the day preparing for that. Also at the meeting: Greg Knight MP (Conservative) and David Clelland MP (Labour).

On March 18 Healey announced a 12 point action plan to give practical support to community pubs up and down the country, backed by £4million in government funding. Needless to say, amendments to the smoking ban don't feature.

If there is a question - or some relevant fact - you would like me to put to the minister, please comment here.

Update: Anti-smoke ban MPs to meet Healey (Morning Advertiser)
Smokers' lobby group to meet pubs minister (The Publican)

Update on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 by Simon Clark

Thank you for all your comments - much appreciated and very useful. There has been an interesting development which I will tell you about when I get a moment. Watch this space.

Saturday night live

I have just done back-to-back interviews on TalkSport and BBC Radio London. The first, at 10.50pm, was with George Galloway on the self-proclaimed "Mother of All Talk Shows". Tonight was George's last programme before the general election.

As you would expect of an unrepentant cigar smoker, Galloway believes the smoking ban should be amended. After inviting me to tell listeners how they could support the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign, he declared "Put me down for that".

Er, thanks, George.

Tonight's show will be archived HERE. I'm on after 50 minutes.

PS. It is now 23:55 or (in tomorrow's time) 00:55. That's a hint, BTW, to turn your clocks forward.

Forest versus Prof John Britton

On Wednesday I appeared on the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 opposite Professor John Britton of the Royal College of Physicians. Click on the bar above to listen.

At last - a result!

One or two of you may recall that I went to Ibrox, home of Glasgow Rangers Football Club, at Christmas and saw my team (Dundee United) lose 7-1. We endured blizzards and God knows what else to get to the match so it wasn't the happiest experience of my life. (See HERE.)

The good news is: United went back to Ibrox a couple of weeks ago in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup and drew 3-3 having been 3-1 down.

On Wednesday they finished the job, winning the replay 1-0 with a goal in the 90th minute.

I knew you'd be interested.

Other match reports:
Celtic 2 - 2 Dundee United (January 2009)
Fever pitch (October 2008)

The data revolution starts here

An arts club set up by Hackney council has had its funding withdrawn because it wasn't “reaching the families with the most difficult needs” reports Karen McTigue on The Free Society website today. "In need of what exactly, is unclear. Art? Socialising?"

She explains:

It appears that the council had used the postcodes of those attending the children’s club, then determined the property values of those areas, and subsequently decided that the attending children must be middle class, and therefore not “in need” ...

In a big brother style letter to the art club leader the council says that the reasons for closure are “based on our monitoring information”.

From birth to death, writes Karen, we are forced to define ourselves within boundaries set by officialdom. We have a responsibility to question why we are required to provide information about ourselves and, if necessary, refuse.

Full article HERE.

If you are over 30 look away now

I have been asked to address the Adam Smith Institute's Next Generation group on Tuesday April 6 when my subject will be "Cigarettes and Civil Liberties". Venue: "a well-known Westminster watering hole". Under-30s only. Contact tng@adamsmith.org for details.

PS. I can't believe it's almost two years since the unveiling of a statue of Adam Smith in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It seems like yesterday, but what a great occasion that was. Full story HERE.

Update on Friday, March 26, 2010 by Simon Clark

Dunhillbabe (see Comments) asks when did you last hear the expression "It's a free country". Funnily enough, Philip Johnston posed the very same question in the Telegraph earlier this week - click HERE.

The article is an extract from Philip's new book Bad Laws: An Explosive Analysis of Britain's Petty Rules, Health and Safety Lunacies and Madcap Laws (Constable) which was published yesterday and is available from Amazon HERE.

That RCP report (and me, me, me)

More media coverage of the Royal College of Physicians' report, beginning with THIS clip from Channel 4 News. For my bit they wanted me to sit behind the wheel of a car that turned out to be a Porsche. I was happy to oblige, although it was a bit of a squeeze. Sadly they didn't entrust me with the keys.

Liberal Vision has posted an edited version of the Five Live phone-in with Nicky Campbell HERE. (As for the rest of the post I couldn't possibly comment.)

I was also on SunTalk HERE about ten minutes in. I haven't heard it but if the sound isn't great it's because I was on my mobile standing next to some garbage in a dingy alleyway a short walk from Oxford Street.

Such is life.

Tobacco tax: what's it to be, Darling?

On top of everything else it's the Budget today. In the days when tobacco taxation used to rise by inflation plus three per cent (under Kenneth Clarke), then inflation plus five per cent (Gordon Brown), the Budget was one of our busiest days, media wise.

In recent years, with tobacco duty keeping pace with inflation but no more, it's not been much of a story so there has been very little to comment on.

Today ... well, it remains to be seen. If the Chancellor agrees with ASH and Policy Exchange and increases tobacco duty by five per cent, we might be in demand this afternoon.

I wouldn't bet against it (pre-Election Budgets are hard to call) but I would be surprised if the increase is as much as five per cent. Two or three per cent is more likely but I'm not Alistair Darling.

We'll know soon enough. Hard hats at the ready ...

Update on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by Simon Clark

Tobacco duty up one per cent this year and two per cent each year thereafter - well short of the five per cent demanded by ASH and Policy Exchange.

Deborah Arnott and Henry Featherstone must be chocking on their lunchtime cider. (Note: cider up ten per cent above inflation.) Cheers!

Forest responds to RCP report

The Royal College of Physicians, supported by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), has called for a ban on smoking in ALL cars, irrespective of whether children are present, plus a raft of other anti-tobacco measures.

The story appears in many of today's newspapers, several of which carry quotes from Forest. We are also quoted by BBC News (online) and the Press Association. Today I will be doing several interviews for BBC local radio stations and ITN - the latter in Regent's Park. (What is it with parks this week?!)

The full Forest response, issued yesterday, reads:

NEWS RELEASE 0001 Wednesday March 24, 2010

FOREST ATTACKS CALL FOR BAN ON SMOKING IN CARS AND OTHER ANTI-TOBACCO MEASURES

The smokers' lobby group Forest has criticised a report by the Royal College of Physicians that calls for a ban on smoking in cars and other places where children congregate, including parks and swimming pools.

Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: "If you ban smoking in cars, which is a private space, it's a small step to banning smoking in the home. Both measures are unacceptable and unenforceable.

"Smoking in outdoor areas poses little or no threat to anyone's health. Banning smoking in parks and other areas where children congregate would be a gross over-reaction.

"We wouldn't encourage people to smoke around children but adults should be allowed to use their common sense and act accordingly. We don't need laws to regulate every aspect of our behaviour.

"These proposals go way beyond what is acceptable in a free society.

"We urge smokers to be considerate towards those around them, especially children, but changing people's behaviour should be achieved by education and encouragement not by legislation and enforcement."

The RCP report claims that passive smoking in the home is a major hazard to the health of millions of children in the UK who live with smokers.

Clark said: "Smokers should err on the side of caution and not smoke around small children in an enclosed space, but to say that the health of millions of children who live with smokers is at serious risk is, we believe, a huge exaggeration.

"If smoking in the home does represent such an enormous risk to children, why can't adults be given the choice of well-ventilated smoking rooms in pubs and private clubs?

“Unfortunately the anti-smoking industry isn't interested in compromise. It just wants to bully smokers until they quit."

Update on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by Simon Clark

Forest is quoted in the following reports:

Ban smoking in all vehicles, doctors demand (BBC News)
Smoking would be banned in all cars, parks and play areas under new proposals (Daily Telegraph)
Smoking in cars should be banned, say doctors (Independent)
Effects of passive smoking on the young costing NHS £23.3m a year (The Times)
Ban smoking in cars to save children, say doctors (Daily Mail)
Doctors demand ban on smoking in cars (Scotsman)
Asthma risk to children prompts call for smoking ban in cars (The Herald)

The Times has a letter from the president of the RCP and others calling for government to "ban smoking in cars to save young lives" HERE.

The Independent has a leading article opposing a ban on smoking in parks and cars. See HERE.

Update on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by Simon Clark

Scotland: 'No plans' to ban smoking in cars (BBC News)

Update on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by Simon Clark

15:15 ... In the next few minutes I am doing an interview for BBC Radio Foyle in Northern Ireland. To say I'm beginning to flag is an understatement. I went to bed at one o'clock last night and got up at 4.30. It's been a long day already.

The first interview of the day was with BBC Radio Solent. I've rather lost track now but I did at least one other local station before moving on to the Five Live phone-in with Nicky Campbell.

I then spoke to Jon Gaunt on SunTalk, and followed that by talking Manx Radio on the Isle of Man.

I was booked to appear on the BBC News Channel at 10.50 but we had to abandon that plan when the car they sent to take me to the Millbank studios in Westminster got caught in such heavy traffic that it took us 30 minutes to move 800 yards. (In hindsight it would have been quicker to walk.)

We couldn't reschedule because after midday all they wanted to talk about was the Budget, and I had other appointments - including the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2.

This time I went head-to-head with Professor John Britton of the RCP. I was hoping for a bit of a scrap but I don't think the professor enjoys confrontation.

From Broadcasting House a cab took me to Gray's Inn Road, home of ITN, where I did two interviews, one for ITV News, the second for Channel 4 News.

The first interview was conducted in car - a Porsche, to be exact - with the camera poking in through the window. I was asked to drape my arm over the steering wheel and look, well, nonchalant. I'll let you be the judge of that.

The One Show you might want to miss

You can watch it HERE - if you must. Personally, I'd give it a miss.

PS. Apologies for the quality. It's a lo-res file that was sent to me by email.

Update on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by Simon Clark

Last night, having watched The One Show report (above), I was feeling a bit hacked off ... This morning, having read the comments about Antony Worrall Thompson and Forest on this post, I feel fighting fit again.

Yes, AWT was hilariously "off message" with some of his comments. So what? The man has a mind of his own (shock horror) and is perfectly entitled to express his views. (In my experience, plenty of smokers share his view about smoking in cars where children are present.) He is clearly speaking from the heart, unlike many of those automatons in the anti-smoking industry who spout one statistic after another, all gleaned from the ASH handbook.

AWT has done a magnificent job supporting Forest for many years. No other "celebrity" is prepared to put themselves in the firing line on such a contentious issue, time and time again. We are very lucky to have him (he has never received a single penny for the many interviews he has done on our behalf, or the events he has attended) and I look forward to working with him for many years to come.

More to follow (in defence of Forest) ...

Duncan Bannatyne on Twitter

Well, it made me laugh.

Early warning anti-smoking alert

The Royal College of Physicians has published a report demanding some pretty severe restrictions on smoking and tobacco. The announcement is embargoed until 00:01 hrs tonight so expect the story to be in many of tomorrow's papers as well as online.

This afternoon Forest issued a response - also embargoed until midnight - which I will publish here tomorrow. Watch this space.

Tonight's television ...

Just to remind you that I am on The One Show (BBC1) tonight between 7.00 and 7.30pm. The filmed report also features Forest patron Antony Worrall Thompson and Duncan Bannatyne, president (!) of No Smoking Day.

A few minutes ago one of the production team rang and said "You definitely got your point across". Why, then, do I feel so nervous?

Sophie Dahl, a former smoker, is tonight's special guest. Or, as The One Show website puts it, "Sophie Dahl joins Adrian and Christine to talk about her new TV cookery show."

I may not be in the studio tonight but at least I can tell my grandchildren we appeared on the same programme.

Update on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 by Simon Clark

You've got to laugh - or cry. The best part of a morning including 20 minutes' filming reduced to a 15-second soundbite.

All credit to Sophie Dahl who clearly didn't feel comfortable with the tone of the studio "discussion", wasn't shy to say that she used to smoke, and even uttered the words "civil rights".

Well, somebody had to. What a farce.