Monday, May 31, 2010 I was due to appear on Aljazeera this afternoon, taking part in a 30-minute discussion on the Inside Story programme. At midday however I got an email saying the item was postponed "due to breaking news in the Middle East".
What could be more important than World No Tobacco Day?
Media Monday, May 31, 2010 
Further to my previous post, I have written an article about the new ASH report for ConservativeHome.
Full article HERE. You may wish to comment.
Simon Clark
There's a fair old discussion going on at ConservativeHome. Keep those comments coming!
Monday, May 31, 2010 "Dirty tricks used by cigarette companies to derail UK health policies that could save the lives of thousands of Britons every year are laid bare in a report, The Smoke Filled Room, published by ASH today."
"Big Tobacco," ASH complains, "is currently concentrating its efforts on fighting bans on cigarette vending machines and point-of-sale displays in all shops."
Shock horror - tobacco industry lobbies government!!!
The report, published to coincide with World No Tobacco Day (May 31), claims that "Big Tobacco hoodwinked MPs into signing an Early Day Motion against point-of-sale displays by bombarding them with postcards purporting to be from worried shopkeepers ..."
Hoodwinked? Bombarding? Purporting to be from worried shopkeepers? Serious allegations. Here's what the Tobacco Retailers Alliance has to say in response:
ASH claim that the Tobacco Retailers Alliance is a ‘mere subsidiary’ of the TMA and a ‘front organisation’ for the tobacco industry, but fail to mention the Alliance’s 26,000 members, all of whom are independent retailers. The Tobacco Retailers Alliance is funded by the TMA, and offers free membership to independent retailers who sell tobacco products. The Tobacco Retailers Alliance is clear about its source of funding.
Ken Patel, national spokesman for the Tobacco Retailers Alliance and a newsagent from Leicester, said: “ASH have always been bullies but this report is stooping to a new low. I am an independent retailer and I campaign tirelessly to protect the business that I have spent half my life building. To suggest that we are a ‘front group’ for the tobacco industry is a disgraceful attack from a bunch of professional lobbyists who should know better.”
“ASH do not hesitate to target retailers and I think they consider independent shopkeepers more vulnerable to attacks, as we are less equipped to defend ourselves from baseless accusations. I have never worked for the tobacco industry, I am not paid by the tobacco industry, and contrary to what ASH might suggest I am quite capable of thinking for myself. Independent retailers are not stupid – we run successful small businesses after all. To suggest we are a front organisation is beyond insulting.”
The report alleges that many retailers’ MPs were unaware that the Save Our Shop campaign was the brainchild of the Tobacco Retailers Alliance and were ’outraged’ to find out. However, the campaign was launched in the House of Commons on 4th November at a reception hosted by the Tobacco Retailers Alliance with some 23 MPs in attendance, contradicting ASH’s claims.
Debbie Corris said: “This is typical of ASH – they want to discredit the masses of support retailers have from the public and in particular from our customers. How dare they?! As an independent business we are perfectly entitled to campaign against proposals like the display ban that would directly impact on our businesses.”
“I have to question whether it is appropriate for a so-called ‘charity’ that receives so much Government funding to discriminate against legitimate, hard-working businesses in this way.”
Needless to say Forest gets a mention in Appendix 2 where it lists so-called "front groups":
The Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (Forest). This smokers’ rights group is funded by UK based tobacco companies and has lobbied the EU Commission and UK government. While Forest portrays itself as the independent voice of smokers, Phillip Morris described the organisation as the tobacco industry’s “investment … into smoker mobilisation”.
Well, we've never hidden the fact that we get most of our money from tobacco companies, so nothing underhand or secretive about that. And why shouldn't we lobby the EU Commission and the UK government? It's a free country. (Well, I thought it was until I read this report.)
Independent voice of smokers? That's a matter of opinion, I guess, but, yeah, I do think Forest is independent. And here's some evidence: for three years (2002-2004) one tobacco company declined to donate to Forest because - in 2001 - I refused to drop our battle with Customs & Excise over the treatment of cross-Channel shoppers who were exercising their legal right to buy cheaper tobacco abroad and bring it into the UK for their own personal use.
Forest, I maintained at the time (and I haven't changed my opinion), represents the consumer not the tobacco industry. Defending an important point of principle cost us around £200k over three years and two members of staff were made redundant as a result. If that's not independent, what is?
As for Philip Morris, Forest hasn't received a penny from PM since 1997 and if I remember correctly (this was before my time) the sum donated to Forest by PM in 1997 was £20,000. Some "investment"!!
Anyway, here's our response to The Smoke Filled Room: How Big Tobacco Influences Health Policy in the UK:
NEWS RELEASE 31st May 2010
FOREST CONDEMNS ASH REPORT AS "HYPOCRITICAL", "LAUGHABLE" AND "ABSURD"
The smokers' lobby group Forest has dismissed as "hypocritical", “laughable” and “absurd” a report by the anti-smoking group ASH that highlights the alleged influence of big tobacco on health policy in the UK.
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: "This is the most breathtakingly hypocritical report I have ever read. No-one has more influence on health policy in the UK than anti-smoking groups such as ASH.
"It's alright for the tobacco control movement to lobby ministers, manipulate public consultations and boast of having conducted a 'confidence trick' on politicians [1], but as soon as the tobacco industry and groups like Forest dare to lobby parliament or voice their opinion that is somehow unacceptable and underhand.
"The anti-smoking lobby is funded largely by public money. Groups such as Forest don't have the benefit of public handouts. Instead we invite donations from the private sector, notably tobacco companies which are the obvious source of funding for a group that represents tobacco consumers.
"There are millions of people in the UK who choose to smoke in full knowledge of the heath risks, and they have every right to be represented in the political process.
“The tobacco industry also has every right to defend the interests of those who sell and consume its products. In a free society anything else would be a travesty of justice.
"The tobacco control movement has a vision of a smoke free world in which theirs is the only voice that people are permitted to hear. Debate must be prohibited and all opposition silenced. Sounds pretty Orwellian to me.”
He added: “In the past decade the government has banned all tobacco advertising and sponsorship. Smoking is banned in all enclosed public places, and the previous government was planning to ban the display of tobacco in shops and prohibit cigarette vending machines. For ASH to complain about the influence of big tobacco on health policy is laughable and absurd.”
Note to editors:
[1] "It is essential that campaigners create the impression of inevitable success. Campaigning of this kind is literally a confidence trick: the appearance of confidence both creates confidence and demoralises the opposition." Smoke and Mirrors, article by Deborah Arnott and Ian Wilmore of ASH, 19 July 2006, Guardian
As for the rest of the report, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. You can download it from the ASH website HERE.
PS. Nice cover!
Simon Clark
Patrick Basham, a name and face familiar to several readers of this blog, is featured at some length in the report. I wonder how Patrick will react to being the very first name highlighted in Appendix 1, subtitled "The Front Men, Moles & Advocates"!!
My guess is, he'll laugh.
Sunday, May 30, 2010 If you send an email using an iPhone it will say "Sent from my iPhone". This evening I received an email with the words: "Sent from my iPad". I have GOT to have one!!!
Btw, my beautiful new Sony Bravia EX503 HD TV arrived on Wednesday. And yes, I did go for the 40" in the end. No regrets. I love it!
PS. The Sky+ HD box comes tomorrow. Does life get any better than this?
Saturday, May 29, 2010 
I am delighted to announce the following list of speakers for the Voices of Freedom programme of events in London on June 3, 10, 15, 24, and 29 (followed by a boat party on Wednesday July 14):
Not a bad list, I think you'll agree. The individual debates will be chaired by:
All we need now is an audience!
RSVP events@thefreesociety.org or telephone 01223 370156.
Prior to each debate there will be a drinks reception courtesy Boisdale of Belgravia. For more information click HERE.
I look forward to seeing you.
Saturday, May 29, 2010 I'm going to Twickenham this afternoon for the Guinness Premiership Final between Saracens and Leicester Tigers. Looking forward to it too. A full house (81,600) and hopefully a good match.
Guinness, as you probably know, is owned by Diageo. A few weeks ago, when we were looking for someone to provide the drinks for the Forest/Free Society boat party on July 14, it was suggested by intermediaries in the trade that I email Diageo with an outline of what we were proposing but I was warned not to mention Forest because "Diageo have a strict no association with tobacco policy".
Given that the party is called "Smoke on the Water" (there's a clue in the title) and I had no intention of removing Forest's name from the event (we are, after all, underwriting it), I politely declined the suggestion.
I like Guinness. But not that much.
Simon Clark
View from the East Stand, U26, row L. Great match, won by Leicester with a try two minutes from time. Final score: Saracens 27 - 33 Leicester Tigers.
Saturday, May 29, 2010 I am currently reading a pretty outrageous report by ASH. It's embargoed until Monday however and convention has it that press embargoes should not be broken, although they frequently are, sometimes with the tacit approval of the organisation that set the embargo in the first place.
Meanwhile the rest of us stick to the gentlemen's agreement not to say anything ... even when we're featured (or getting a drubbing) in the report concerned.
Anyway, in my hands is a piece of hypocritical junk that casts aspersions about a number of groups and individuals and I can't say anything about it until 00.01hrs Monday morning.
Believe me, when that hour arrives I'll be blasting from both barrels.
Friday, May 28, 2010 Taking Liberties was launched in March 2007 using a web publishing platform called Squarespace. Belatedly, I have just adopted Version 5 which offers a lot more content tools but the switchover hasn't gone as smoothly as I would have liked.
There are still some gremlins to be sorted out and Will (Forest's resident IT guru) will continue to tweak the design until we are happy with it.
Bear with us ... it may take a few days.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 
Had lunch with my old friend Todd Buchholz in Cambridge earlier in the week. We first met in Washington DC in 1983 ... but I've told you that before.
Anyway, we sat outside in the sun, a few feet from Magdalene Bridge (above) and had a good old chat.
Todd mentioned the writer Saul Alinsky (who needless to say I had never heard of). Apparently Alinsky is considered to be the founder of modern "community organising", the precursor perhaps to David Cameron's Big Society.
Todd also talked about Ernest van den Haag and an incident between the Dutch social critic and John Banzhaf, the arch anti-tobacco campaigner once described as a "guerrilla public interest lawyer".
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Following the Queen's Speech we have decided to change the subject of our first Voices of Freedom discussion next week.
The debate at the IEA on Thursday June 3 will now address The Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill and speakers (and audience) will be asked to nominate laws that should be reformed, amended or repealed completely.
Chaired by Mark Littlewood, director-general of the IEA, speakers include Professor Philip Booth (IEA), Guy Herbert (general secretary, NO2ID), Shane Frith (director, Progressive Vision), Chris Snowdon (author, Velvet Glove, Iron Fist and The Spirit Level Delusion), and me.
Needless to say I will be arguing for an amendment to the Health Act 2006 - that's the one that bans smoking in all public places.
If you would like to join us RSVP events@thefreesociety.org or telephone 01223 370156.
Full details HERE.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 
Over the next two to three weeks you will be seeing quite a lot of the animated banner above because it will be appearing on the following blogs:
An Englishman's Castle
Guido Fawkes
Iain Dale's Diary
UK Polling Report
Boris Johnson
Tom Harris
Burning Our Money
Dizzy Thinks
PoliticalBetting
Standpoint Magazine
Tim Worstall
LibDemVoice
Mark Reckons
The Voices of Freedom series kicks off next week and - please note - there is a change of subject for the first discussion on Thursday June 3.
Full details HERE.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 In the latest of his Reflections on a Free Society, published today on The Free Society website, Simon Hills (associate editor of The Times Magazine) declares: "you’ve as much chance of finding a scientist like Michael Faraday as stumbling across Kristin Scott Thomas in a bingo hall."
He continues:
Today’s scientists come to our attention not by standing in a box of lightning in dramatic public lectures, but by grabbing ever more extravagant headlines, telling us that our little sojourn on planet Earth is about to come to an end. Given melting ice caps, a population explosion, AIDS, additives in food, it’s unlikely we have long for this world. Science is only science if it’s telling us we’re going to die, or at very best become very, very ill.
We are bombarded with reports telling us that grapefruit increases breast cancer risk (and how the hell did scientists track down all these grapefruit-eaters to come up with this little nugget?), Teflon can increase the risk of allergies and colds can kill off our memories.
Real science, from the likes of Newton, Boyle, Faraday, Fleming that has given us modern medicine, freedom to travel the world, central heating and pain relief at the dentist’s has been replaced by touchy-feely studies that chime with the nanny state, with finger-wagging warnings about dangerous pursuits such as watching television and eating chips.
Sunday, May 23, 2010 
I was very sorry to hear that Robert Chambers (above) had died suddenly but peacefully in the early hours of Friday morning. He was 46.
I didn't know Rob well but our paths crossed occasionally over the years and I always thought of him as a quiet, calm, self-effacing man who was very well-liked by those who did know him.
Caroline Chambers - they married in 1989 - worked for Forest in the late Eighties but I first met Rob (through mutual friends) a few years before that. In fact, Forest isn't the only group I have in common with the Chambers.
In 1984, following a textbook coup that removed the previous left-leaning regime, I was given the job of running the UK branch of the International Society for Human Rights, a small Frankfurt-based group whose original purpose was to bring together families divided by communism in general and the Berlin Wall in particular.
Mine was a short-term, part-time appointment. The job was subsequently taken on with a great deal more energy and enthusiasm by Robert who eventually moved to Germany where he became secretary-general of the ISHR in Frankfurt.
A few years after their return to Britain, Rob and Caroline moved into the pub industry. In 2005, with Robert's help, Caroline won The Publican's prestigious Marketing Pub of the Year award. Report HERE.
Friends are paying tribute to Robert on a special website HERE. Condolences to Caroline, his children, and his partner Kate.
Photo courtesy Caroline Chambers
Simon Clark
I was unaware of it until today, when I Googled his name, but in February Robert left a comment on this blog in response to something I had written several weeks earlier.
Ironically, I had written about our mutual friend George Miller-Kurakin following his death last year at the age of 54. According to Robert, "George was a big influence on my early life, and I was at his wedding." See HERE.
At the various memorial events I attended George was described as a "freedom fighter". It's no exaggeration to say that the same could be said of Robert Chambers.
Simon Clark
To demonstrate how little I knew Robert, I have just discovered that he wrote a blog called MutleytheDogsDayOut which seems to have enjoyed something of a cult following.
Fellow blogger Calum Carr has written a tribute ... as has Nourishing Obscurity, Sicily Scene and Electro-Kevin. (And, no, I hadn't heard of any of them either!).
What they describe is so different from the Robert Chambers I thought I knew that I can't believe it's the same person ... Amazing, really, and how nice that he managed to touch people by demonstrating such a surreal side to his personality.
Simon Clark
Caroline, Rob's ex-wife, has posted a funny, poignant and very honest obituary on Facebook. Here's a taste:
I think there are a lot of very clever, fabulous people who struggle with depression and alcohol problems; it’s almost like the ying to the yang on their brilliance. It all became too much for me to cope with and we parted in February 2007. I am sad that he did not manage to conquer the demon booze, but to be honest there was nothing Rob liked more than a skinful of beer, whilst chain smoking and giving forth on the wrongs of the world – it was what made him – and he never lost his intelligence or his wit. I think he was more like his mad Jack Russell dog than we thought! Rob has continued to make a difference to people’s lives with his generosity of spirit on the blogosphere with his mad, surreal MutleytheDogsDay out blog – which I have to confess I find too confusing and painful to read, but I know he and others found it hilarious.
You can read the whole thing HERE.
Reading it reminds me that I must have met Rob in 1983 or thereabouts when he was working for Julian Lewis (now MP for New Forest East) at the Coalition for Peace for Security, an anti-CND operation that occupied a tiny sixth floor office in Whitehall, close to Trafalgar Square.
I have written, once or twice, about those days on this blog and if you read Robert's Facebook obituary you may recognise some of the names. (I may be mistaken but I am fairly sure that Robert took part in THIS escapade in 1984.)
Sadly, Caroline may be right when she says: "It seems what the Red Army and KGB failed to achieve Mother Nature is doing for them!"
Above: Robert in 1985. Photo courtesy Carlton Rae
Simon Clark
Julian Lewis MP, who Robert and I both worked for (albeit on different projects) in the Eighties, has sent me his response to Rob's death:
"This is such shocking news that it is hard to take it in. Robert was one of a small number of truly dedicated activists at a time when seriously evil Marxist doctrines held millions in captivity and easily infected the young and the gullible.
"He was an admirable, selfless and committed member of our small team of counter-campaigners. I shall be proud to be present to say goodbye to him and think that society is in his debt."
Sunday, May 23, 2010 
Not sure that I agree with all those Facebook "friends" who are basking in today's weather.
"Enjoying the sunshine in a big way," says one.
"Brilliant weather," writes another (from the Isle of Mull, no less).
But wait.
"Too hot to do shit."
Now that's more like it.
Luckily we managed to find a table with a large parasol in the back garden of The Old Mill near Huntingdon and spent the next few hours eating, drinking and reading the Sunday papers ... in the shade.
Perfect.
Above: The Old Mill, Huntingdon
Below: the view from the The Old Mill car park
Sunday, May 23, 2010 
Hilarious. A well-known left-wing blogger has just asked for a fee to take part in Voices of Freedom: The Battle Against Big Government. Sorry. No-one else is being paid - we can't afford it - and we can't make exceptions.
Meanwhile we are still waiting to hear from a host of left of centre groups who we have politely invited to provide a speaker.
For whatever reason it appears that they don't want to engage. With that attitude to political debate, the Left could be in opposition for decades to come.
