PMQs, cake and a protest

It was Day 2 in London and PMQ s today was to feature the Iraq Inquiry- The country was in turmoil again after a suggestion of a private inquiry had sent fresh waves of resentment through the public and had Stop the War coalition stationed outside Westminster for a mass protest. I wanted to watch the debate before going off to the protest to interview Lindsey German.

I had my face glued to the telly in my great aunt;s back room trying to soak in as much of the debate as I could before running of the Westminster as she brought me a banana and some cake cake to keep me fuelled for the afternoon.

What always strikes me is the enthusiasm she always shows for what I'm doing even though she was a woman who worked her up to the pinnacle of a career and against on all odds because the only woman in her time to rise to the rank of a senior tax examiner. She spent her whole working life doing that, first with the Inland Revenue and then with Reckitt and Coleman, now Reckitt and Benckiser and she never ceases to inspire me even through my tough times. Miss Vera Marston is no ordinary woman and I'm proud to be her grand niece.

If you're interested in learning more about the UK Tax system you might want to have a read of this paperback by Malcolm James which an introduction to the UK Tax system.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/UK-Tax-System-Introduction/dp/1904905226

Coming back to my cake and controversial story chase, having caught at least half of the debate I was soon on the district line into Westminster to interview Lindsey German amidst what ended up being a very noisy protest. She is one of the most public figures from the anti war camp and the anti Blair camp , a lawyer by profession and somebody who wasn't afraid of voicing her opinion.

The interview later poved to be a test of my own objective editorial judgement. What I later learned differentiated a war crime from the crime of aggression could have made it libellous for me to quote her calling Tony Blair a war criminal. Much as it is a publicly voiced and shared view I had to take an impartial stance as a journalist , regardless of what my personal view was as an individual and I knew that objectivity and impartiality were to be my greatest challenges while putting together this piece of radio.