Booker's prize party

Twenty-four hours after the event I'm still feeling the effects of last night's Forest party. Over 150 guests turned up, and many were still there come midnight. Wine flowed and Boisdale MD Ranald Macdonald was as generous as ever with whisky and cigars.

Christopher Booker and Richard North, co-authors of Scared To Death: From BSE To Global Warming, travelled from Somerset and Yorkshire to sign copies of the book which quickly sold out.

Christopher gave a short speech - to cheers and applause - and proposed a toast, at which point everyone raised their glasses and cheered (again). The message was clear: people are sick and tired of having their freedoms restricted by politicians and campaigners, especially when it involves scaremongering and the consistent abuse of science and statistics.

Guests came in all shapes and sizes. Politicians rubbed shoulders with journalists, lobbyists, publishers and publicists. In one corner Christopher Chope MP, in another UKIP leader (and MEP) Nigel Farage. Madsen Pirie and Eamonn Butler (founders of the influential Adam Smith Institute) were there. So too Mark Wallace of the Taxpayers Alliance, and many more. Others, like the very senior "captain of industry" - a famous face in the City - who was attending in a personal capacity, shall remain nameless!

The real star, however, was Boisdale's new smoker-friendly roof terrace which got rave reviews (it was hotter than the Caribbean) and was packed throughout. Warmly (!) recommended.

For more photos, click HERE.

Tonight's the night

Tonight we celebrate the publication of an important new book by Christopher Booker and Richard North. To quote the blurb, "Scared to Death examines the role played by scientists who have consistently misread or manipulated the evidence; by the media and lobbyists who eagerly promote the scare without regard to the facts; and by the politicians and officials who come up with an absurdly disproportionate response, leaving us all to pay a colossal price through the financial cost of misplaced and often completely ill-conceived legislation."

At risk of repeating myself, there are chapters on BSE, the Millennium Bug, bird flu, salmonella in eggs, global warming and passive smoking, to name a few. The book complements perfectly Forest's new Free Society campaign, which is why we decided to organise tonight's party at Boisdale in Belgravia. The event is now fully booked - but check back here tomorrow for a full report.

Rights and wrongs of free speech

I woke up this morning to the Today programme and the sound of two MPs - Julian Lewis (Conservative) and Evan Harris (Liberal) - heatedly discussing the pros and cons of tonight's debate at the Oxford Union where BNP leader Nick Griffin and discredited historian David Irving have been invited to speak.

First, I should declare an interest. Julian Lewis and I go back a long way. From 1983-85 he helped raise funds to support a national student magazine that I founded and edited. (One of our goals was to strike a blow against the closed shop system whereby undergraduates had to be members of the National Union of Students.) For five years thereafter I worked for him as director of the Media Monitoring Unit which he founded in 1985 with former Labour minister Lord Chalfont to combat unrestrained political bias on television news and current affairs.

Yesterday, Julian announced that he was resigning "with great sadness" his life membership of the Oxford Union, arguing that the right to free speech should not guarantee access to "privileged platforms". In his letter to the union's officers, he wrote:

"Nothing which happens in Monday's debate can possibly offset the boost you are giving to a couple of scoundrels who can put up with anything except being ignored. It is sheer vanity on your part to imagine that any argument you deploy, or any vote you carry will succeed in causing them damage. They have been exposed and discredited time and again by people vastly more qualified than you in arenas hugely more suited to the task than an undergraduate talking-shop, however venerable."

I know how carefully Julian chooses his words and, to be fair, he isn't arguing that people shouldn't have the right to say (within the law) what they think. His principal grievance is with the Oxford Union for offering Irving and Griffin a prestigious arena for their views.

There's no direct comparison but there are echoes of the argument we had with the BBC and other broadcasters in the Eighties - namely, if our democratic political system is to be defended, is it reasonable to give equal weight and prominence to the opinions of extremists who wish to undermine the system?

Politics has changed since then, of course. Back then there were clear battles between right and left, capitalism and socialism, democracy and dictatorship (aka the Cold War). Indeed, one of the sad things about Britain today is that those of us who fought so hard to defend our democratic institutions have been badly let down by the "democrats" in power (and in opposition).

But the arguments about free speech haven't changed. Then again, Julian's point is not about freedom of speech. It concerns "privileged platforms". The danger is, if we accept this concept, it could so easily be abused by those wishing to stifle debate on all manner of subjects.

Like Julian, I abhor the BNP and what little I know of David Irving's views. But where do we draw the line? Who decides when (and where) a certain point of view can be expressed? I'm not sure I know the answer but it's an important issue because the definition of a truly free society depends on it.

Resignation story HERE. Update HERE.

Wogan's world

Nice line in today's Sunday Telegraph: "The man on the Clapham Omnibus wonders why we're worried about personal information falling into the hands of untrustworthy people, who may use it to extract money from us. Since the Government had it in the first place, it's happened already." The writer? Step forward - Terry Wogan.

Coming soon - new and revised websites

We're working hard to complete the revised Forest website. Although the new site is a slimmed down version of the current one, the project has taken longer than anticipated. The customised CMS (content management system) is new and there have been one or two technical faults to iron out during the development stage, but we're getting there.

We've appointed a new website manager and the revised site will go live early in the new year. It will coincide with the launch of the all new Free Society site (left), which I'm equally excited about. TFS is designed to be interactive, so we will be encouraging your comments on a wide range of issues, from smoking, eating and drinking to speeding, global warming, CCTV cameras and more.

This blog, too, will be re-launched. All three sites will be advertised on the Internet with a view to attracting more traffic. The Forest website currently averages 4,000 visitors a day. We intend to increase that number and encourage people to engage not only with Forest but also with our Free Society campaign and, via that, Taking Liberties. Watch this space.

UN couldn't make it up

An old university friend, who works at the Foreign Office, is unable to come to our party (see below). He writes: "Thanks very much, Forest, but apologies this time as I shall be at the UN in New York looking after your interests, Simon. If it's any consolation, the UN HQ building is defiantly smoke-filled - especially in the eating areas. Good luck on Tuesday."

Scared To Death party fully booked

If you've been checking this blog you could be forgiven for thinking it's been a quiet week. Far from it. I hope to post a bit more over the weekend. In the meantime I am delighted to report that our soiree in London next Tuesday is now fully booked. 

Confirmed guests include MPs, broadcasters, writers, publishers, campaigners, political researchers, lobbyists and journalists from The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Mail on Sunday, Independent on Sunday and Observer, to name a few. I am praying there are a few no-shows because it's going to be quite a squeeze to get all 200 people in! 

Another "problem" concerns the book itself. This afternoon the publishers informed us that copies of Scared To Death by Christopher Booker and Richard North "have been flying off the shelf" and 50 is the max they can let us have before the reprint comes though in early December. The rest of the stock has already been allocated to bookshops, Amazon etc, so my advice is - if you are coming to the party, buy a copy in advance (from Waterstones, Borders etc) and bring it with you to be signed by the authors.

National treasures

Reviewing Scared To Death - the book we are celebrating with a special Forest event in London next week - Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens yesterday paid a remarkable tribute to the authors. Describing Christopher Booker and his colleague, Richard North, as "courageous opponents of scares", Hitchens added:

They ought to be national treasures ...  they are relentlessly unfashionable. Their unwillingness to run with the pack makes them sceptical of conventional wisdom and sets them apart from mainstream journalism, which is unsettled by their diligence and their originality.

And then - like all sceptics - they are sometimes embarrassing even to their friends. They will insist on checking the facts of the matter ... Every politician, every journalist, every consumer of journalism should read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it.

See also the Daily Telegraph's review HERE.

Boisdale - the place to see and be seen

Tickets are being snapped up for our party, on Tuesday November 27, to celebrate the publication of Scared To Death: From BSE to Global Warming by Christopher Booker and Richard North (see HERE). Boisdale, venue for the event, features in this week's Spectator. The magazine reports that:

After a depressing four months in which smokers, in the words of Sallyann, have been made to feel ‘like third-class citizens’, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. The fightback against New Labour’s particularly noxious brand of killjoy illiberalism is being led by the charismatic figure of Ranald Macdonald, elder son of the 24th Captain of Clanranald ...

Macdonald prefers to use the phrase ‘bully state’ to describe the sort of country Britain has become: ‘nanny state sounds too middle-class’. ‘We’ve certainly become a lot less tolerant than we were 30 years ago. I’m afraid there are a lot more unhappy people out there who seem to derive pleasure in telling people what not to do.’

The article also draws attention to Boisdale's new smoker-friendly roof terrace, built at a cost of £40,000. A colleague reports that since it opened two weeks ago he has practically been living there. "They've done us smokers proud," he tells me.

A similar eulogy appeared in the Daily Mail this week:

"Outcast smokers have a new haven at Boisdale in Belgravia - a well-heated, softly-lit roof terrace with cane armchairs and swaying palm trees. Owner Ranald Macdonald (above left) says he aims to create a balmy Caribbean atmosphere, which for the duration of the winter is assisted by eight overhead heaters and Macdonald tartan blankets."

Boisdale, it seems, is the place to see and be seen. You can read the full Spectator article HERE.

'Allo, 'allo, what's all this then?

A policeman (a CID officer) rang yesterday. He wanted advice - legal advice. (Don't laugh, I'm serious.) It's a long story but the gist of it is that smokers (officers and civilians) at his local station are getting a raw deal. Quite simply, they appear to be victims of a rather petty form of discrimination.

Apparently, it has been normal practice for staff to be allowed, during working hours, to nip out to the shops (eg the post office) for a few minutes. The officer in charge (an ex-smoker) has now decreed that only non-smokers can go. Smokers can't because - shock horror - they may have a crafty fag on the way. And we can't have that, can we?

Mr Plod wanted to know if there's a law against it. I fear not. The only thing we can do is pass on the information to the local paper, naming and shaming the officer in question in the hope that the "policy" may be changed. This, of course, can backfire on those who complained so it's not something we rush into without their full cooperation.

In the meantime, let us once again reflect on the bizarre, inflexible nature of today's anti-smoking zealots. In their evangelical desire to "help" people give up, they treat friends and colleagues like children and openly discriminate without a moment's thought.

As far as the police are concerned, you would think that senior officers have better things to do than target colleagues like this. Why make a police officer's working environment any harder or more stressful than it already is?

PS. My new friend offered some further insight into working practices at his station. Although smoking is banned in the building, car park and grounds, officers routinely turn a blind eye to prisoners smoking in their cells. If an officer fancies a cigarette, he may quietly join them - behind bars!

TV debate about ETS? Dream on ...

Commenting on another post, Chris Cyrnik writes: "I have been trying unsucessfully to find a programme maker who would be interested in making a 'Smoking Out The Truth' programme for someone like Channel 4. It would be a courtroom style format where the main protagonists such as epidemiologists and respected medical practitioners would be forensically questioned. There would be no hiding place, and ultimately the truth about 'passive smoking' in particular would be exposed for what it is (a complete myth)."

I think Chris wants me to respond, but he won't like the answer. There are several reasons why it won't happen, but the main one is that the anti-smoking industry will simply refuse to take part. What's in it for them? As far as they're concerned, "there's no debate". Why would they jeopardise their current position by allowing a serious element of doubt to creep into people's minds? Worse, they might even lose the debate!

We've been here before: in November 2004 the Tobacco Manufacturers Association organised a one-day seminar on ETS at the Royal Institution in London. The TMA invited all sides to attend, and speak. The anti-smoking lobby refused. Although it was a private event (open to the media), the antis even attacked the venue, accusing the Royal Institution of being "naive". Full story HERE and must read commentary HERE.

That's the reality and that's why you will never see a balanced, courtroom-style debate about ETS on national television.

Academics give green light to bully state

A report to be published today by the "well respected" Nuffield Council for Bioethics will claim that government is not doing enough to help people live healthy lives. The report argues that increasing taxation on alcohol and banning smoking in people’s homes are justified if they improve public health.

Yesterday I was sent an advance press release and gave the following quote to The Times (which they used in their report, HERE):

"People accept the need for government to educate and advise people about their health, but politicians should take care not to over-indulge in social engineering. Potentially, this report is a manifesto for a bully state in which people are increasingly forced to behave in a manner approved by politicians and evangelical health campaigners who want unprecedented control over our daily lives."

I have long argued that things will get worse before they get better. The nanny/bully state brigade is on a roll and it is going to be a major battle to derail it. But derail it we must. The good news is there are some influential voices on our side. For example, a leader in today's Times makes it very clear where they stand:

John Stuart Mill held that the only justification for state coercion was to prevent harm, or “evil”, being done to others. It is a stretch to say that eating too many hamburgers, or smoking at home, meets that definition. Yet in seeking to modernise Mill, the Nuffield group comes dangerously close to arguing such a line.

It is not the British people who need treatment, it is Government - for its hyperactive insistence on interfering in private lives. The sooner that it kicks that bureaucratic habit, the healthier society will be.

Full article HERE. Definitely worth reading.

Invitation to a special Forest event

I am delighted to announce a very special Forest event (and it's free!). On Tuesday November 27 we will celebrate the publication of Scared To Death (see HERE) by Christopher Booker and Richard North. Christoper co-founded Private Eye and has a column in the Sunday Telegraph. Richard is a political analyst and was formerly a nationally known consultant on public health and food safety.

Venue is Boisdale of Belgravia, close to Victoria Station, central London. The party starts at 7.00pm with free wine and canapes. The authors will sign books and say a few words. After 9.00pm, there will be live jazz and we also be giving away copies of the Forest/Boisdale CD You Can't Do That! (Songs For Swinging Smokers) - the perfect Christmas present!

Readers of this blog are invited to attend. Places are strictly limited so if you want to come RSVP as soon as possible. Telephone Freya Walkley 01223 370156 (office hours) or email events@forestonline.org with your name and full address and we will send you an invitation (top left).

Why you must read Booker's new book

There's a must read article in the Daily Mail today. It's by journalist Christopher Booker and it coincides with the publication of his new book, written with Richard North, called Scared To Death: From BSE to Global Warming - Why Scares Are Costing Us The Earth.

One chapter is dedicated to passive smoking. In today's article, Christopher writes:

For years, despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on trying to prove that smokers not only harmed themselves but also the health of those around them, the anti-smoking campaigners found the evidence they wanted frustratingly elusive.

So when the two most comprehensive studies of passive smoking ever carried out each came up with findings that non-smokers living with smokers faced no significantly increased risk of cancer, their antismoking sponsors did all they could to get the reports suppressed.

In a pattern familiar from other scares, the researchers were subjected to a torrent of personal vilification. By the time a wave of smoking bans swept through Europe and America in the early 21st century, the official statistics used to justify them had become not just exaggerated but wholly fictitious.

Full article HERE. Scared To Death is published by Continuum and is available from all good bookshops, price £16.99. Check back later and I will reveal how you can get a copy, personally signed by the authors, with a 20 per cent discount.

In defence of cigarette vending machines

While most of you were still asleep, I was driving to Television Centre in London to appear on Five Live Breakfast closely followed by Breakfast on BBC1. They wanted me to comment on the story that the British Heart Foundation wants legislation to ban the sale of cigarettes through vending machines. (See HERE.)

My opponent on both programmes was Deborah Arnott, director of ASH. Echoing the BHF, Debs insisted that one in six child smokers get their fags from vending machines. Having spoken at length last night to Rod Bullough, managing director of a tobacco vending machine supplier and founder of the original Freedom2Choose campaign, I hotly disputed this.

Are they seriously suggesting that over 50,000 children regularly march in to pubs, clubs and hotels with the correct money (£5.80) and walk off with their booty without being stopped? It doesn't make sense, bearing in mind that cigarettes from a vending machine are as expensive as you can get; there are rules about the siting of vending machines; and allowing children to use them is illegal (and potentially costly for the proprietor).

Truth is, the proposal to ban vending machines has very little to do with reducing the number of underage smokers. It's just the latest in a series of proposals designed to "denormalise" smoking. Other ideas include the suggestion that tobacco products be placed "under the counter" (ie not displayed) in shops and supermarkets.

Then again, if the use of vending machines by child smokers really is a problem, there's a simple solution - adapt them so they will only work with a token (which you have to buy from the bar or hotel reception) or a credit card. Needless to say, Deborah didn't think much of that idea. Fancy that!

Update on Monday, November 12, 2007 by Simon Clark

A friend has just emailed: "Saw you on BBC News at the weekend.  It must be a pain having to appear with that dreary woman from ASH - rather like having a ball and chain attached to your ankle." Another writes: "Well done for putting Deborah Arnott in her place. She is insufferable." I couldn't possibly comment.