Tony Blair cancels book signing amid protest fears

Tony Blair cancels book signing amid protest fears

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Mr Blair told Daybreak on ITV1 it was "not as if we need" to do signings

Tony Blair has cancelled a planned book signing in London on Wednesday to prevent causing the public and the police "a lot of hassle".

Mr Blair said: "I don't want the public to be inconvenienced by the inevitable hassle caused by protesters."
Eggs and shoes were thrown at the former UK prime minister at a similar event in Dublin at the weekend.
Mr Blair earlier told ITV it was "not as if we need" to do signings to sell copies of his memoirs.
Announcing his decision to scrap the long-planned event, he said: "I know the Metropolitan Police would, as ever, have done a superb job in managing any disruption but I do not wish to impose an extra strain on police resources, simply for a book signing.
"I'm really sorry for those - as ever the majority - who would have come to have their books signed by me in person. I hope they understand."
'Concerned'
Four men were arrested after eggs, bottles and shoes were thrown at him during anti-Iraq war protests at the Dublin signing following the release of his memoirs last week.
Mr Blair described those involved as a "minority", adding that, on such occasions, "the protesters get all the publicity".
Another event had been planned for Waterstone's in Piccadilly, central London, on Wednesday, with rigorous security measures in place.
But ahead of it being cancelled Mr Blair, prime minister from 1997 to 2007, told the ITV breakfast programme Daybreak: "To be frank about it, I am concerned - if people want to have a book signed, people should protest but not try and physically prevent you doing it."
Waterstone's said the signing was cancelled on "the wishes of the author".
Managing director Dominic Myers, said, "Our job as a bookseller is to bring books to our customers, and where possible enable them to meet authors as well.
"It is a matter of regret that because of the likely actions of a minority, our customers are now not able to meet a three-times elected prime minister of the United Kingdom, whose book has become our fastest-selling autobiography ever."
Mr Blair said he would provide signed copies for the store to sell instead.
Lindsey German, convener of the Stop The War Coalition, said the former prime minister "was too frightened to appear at the book signing because he knows that the protests represent widespread opposition to his war-mongering".

Tony Blair: 'Heavy price' for climate inaction

Tony Blair: 'Heavy price' for climate inaction

Mr Blair used the UK's G8 presidency in 2005 to push the issue of climate change

World leaders may pay a heavy price in history if they fail to tackle global warming, Tony Blair has warned.

He said politicians did not have to wait for chaotic climate change in order for them to act.
The risks of not cutting emissions, given the potentially massive consequences, was enough to justify action, he told BBC Radio 4.
The former prime minister added that it had always been a struggle to explain the uncertainties in climate science.
He told Radio 4's Uncertain Climate documentary: "It's very hard to say 'this is the precise warming there's going to be, this is the maximum amount you can allow this (emissions) to continue'."
He took advice while in 10 Downing Street from the government chief scientist at the time, Professor David King and the President of the Royal Society, Lord May.
"They were very rightly and properly saying there's areas of uncertainty here but if you want a judgement from us as government scientists, then our judgement is this is a serious problem that needs global action to deal with it," he added.
"I was never in the situation of total certainty here and indeed I always used to say to the NGO people (pressure groups) and others (to) be careful you don't end up in a situation where you are claiming that something is certain when it isn't absolutely certain.

"But it doesn't need to be certain for us to act. It just needs to be likely, probable or actually even - if you look at the consequences possible because if you find out 2030 or 2040 'that was a real problem, we should have dealt with that', you're going to pay a pretty heavy price in history."

In the first part of the documentary, broadcast last week, Mr Blair said he did not agree with Gordon Brown or Ed Miliband who called climate sceptics "flat earthers" and "deniers".
He said these were the wrong terms as the science contained uncertainties. He said it was far better to express the issue as one of risk.
The documentary points out that under Mr Blair's tenure as prime minister, emissions in the UK actually rose if embedded emissions from goods imported into the UK were included in the national figures.
The second part of Uncertain Climate will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday, 6 September 2010 at 0900 BST and 2130 BST

If I'd proposed solving the pension problem by compulsory euthanasia for every fifth pensioner I'd have got less trouble for it

1 September 2010 Last updated at 09:01

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Blair's memoirs: Key quotes

Tony Blair's memoirs have been published. We will be updating this page showing some of the key quotations from the book. ELECTION NIGHT 1997

This was not a win. It was a landslide. After about two hours for a time I actually became worried. The moving line at the bottom of the TV screen was showing over a hundred Labour seats. The Tories had just six. I began to think I had done something unconstitutional.

IN POWER

On 2 May 1997, I walked into Downing Street as PM for the first time. I had never held office, not even as the most junior of junior ministers. It was my first and only job in government.

DEATH OF DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES

Through it all, we were trying to work out how it should be managed. I know this sounds callous. I was genuinely in grief. I liked her and I felt desperately sorry for her two boys, but I also knew that this was going to be a major national, in fact global event like no other. How Britain emerged was important for the country internally and externally. I was prime minister; I had to work out how it would work out. I had to articulate what would be a tidal wave of grief and loss, in a way that was dignified but also expressed the emotion and love - not too strong a word - people felt for her.

PRIME MINISTER'S QUESTIONS

If I did seem to be enjoying it, then it was a supreme instance of acting. I hated it.

9/11 ATTACKS

At that moment, I felt eerily calm despite being naturally horrified at the devastation, and aware this was not an ordinary event but a world-changing one. It was not America alone who was the target, but all of us who shared the same values. We had to stand together.

GEORGE W BUSH

I had come to like and admire George. I was asked recently which of the political leaders I had met had the most integrity. I listed George near the top. Some people were aghast... thinking I was joking. He had genuine integrity and as much political courage as any leader I ever met. He was, in a bizarre sense... a true idealist.

IRAQ - BEREAVED FAMILIES

Do they really suppose I don't care, don't feel, don't regret with every fibre of my being the loss of those who died? To be indifferent to that would be inhuman, emotionally warped.

DEATH OF DR DAVID KELLY

I will never know precisely what made Dr David Kelly take his own life. Who can ever know the reason behind these things? It was so sad, unnecessary and terrible.

ON WIFE CHERIE

She was a rock to me, strong when I was weak, determined when I was tempted to falter, and fierce in her defence of the family.

ON DRINKING

By the standards of days gone by I was not even remotely a toper, and I couldn't do lunchtime drinking except on Christmas Day, but if you took the thing everyone always lies about - units per week - I was definitely at the outer limit. Stiff whisky or G&T before dinner, couple of glasses of wine or even half a bottle with it. So not excessively excessive. I had a limit. But I was aware that it had become a prop.

ROWS WITH GORDON BROWN

I'm afraid I stopped taking his calls. Poor Jon [an adviser] would come in and say: "The chancellor really wants to speak to you." I would say: "I am really busy, Jon." And he would say: "He is really demanding it." Then I would say: 'I'll call him soon." And Jon would say: "Do you really mean that, prime minister?" And I would say: "No, Jon."

ON GORDON BROWN'S FOLLOWERS

The curse of Gordon was to make these people co-conspirators, not free-range thinkers. He and Ed Balls and others were like I had been back in the 1980s, until slowly the scales fell from my eyes and I realised it was more like a cult than a kirk.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

I profoundly disagree with important parts of the statist, so-called Keynesian response to the economic crisis; I believe we should be projecting strength and determination abroad, not weakness or uncertainty.

DAVID CAMERON

David Cameron was clever and people-friendly but he had not gone through the arduous but ultimately highly educative apprenticeship I had gone through in the 1980s and early 90s.

ED BALLS

I've had some harsh things to say about Ed Balls - I thought he behaved badly at points, and was wrong on policy - but I also thought he was really able, and a talent that any political party should be grateful to have.

FOX HUNTING BAN

If I'd proposed solving the pension problem by compulsory euthanasia for every fifth pensioner I'd have got less trouble for it.

IAN PAISLEY AND NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE DEAL

Once, near the end, he asked me whether I thought God wanted him to make the deal that would seal the peace process. I wanted to say yes, but I hesitated; though I was sure God would want peace, God is not a negotiator.

Election: Vote battle intensifies for final three days

Election: Vote battle intensifies for final three days

Cameron denies he is 'over-confident'
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are into the final three days of election campaigning.

The Tories are ahead in the polls but not by enough to get a majority - Mr Cameron says they will campaign through the night in a final push from Tuesday.

Mr Brown said he would fight "every inch" and said "judgement and wisdom" were needed after the financial crisis.

Mr Clegg told supporters in south-east London "the sky's the limit" and they had "three days to change Britain".

The three leaders are spending the bank holiday visiting numerous seats they hope to win on 6 May.

'No complacency'

Three days before the closest election since 1992, an ICM/Guardian poll puts the Conservatives on 33%, Labour and the Lib Dems on 28% while a YouGov poll for the Sun puts the Tories on 34%, Lib Dems on 29% and Labour on 28% - which continue to point to a hung parliament.

BBC News Channel chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said despite the final TV debate and Mr Brown having to apologise after being overheard calling a pensioner "bigoted", the polls had not really shifted over the past week.

In Blackpool on Monday, Mr Cameron said there was not "one ounce of complacency" in his campaign and pledged a through-the-night campaign from Tuesday night to Wednesday night, in which he is expected to meet fishermen, bakers and florists who work in the early hours of the morning.


In this country you don't inherit power, you have to earn it

Nick Clegg


Clegg warns of Tory 'arrogance'
He said he was taking "no vote for granted" and recognised that millions of people were still making up their minds.

In a message to his parliamentary candidates he said: "This is the vital time. You need to go door to door, street to street, house to house. We have a huge amount of work to do, a lot of people left to convince."

"If we get out there we can... win it and win it for our country," he said.

On Sunday he said his party had the "momentum" - and was criticised by Labour's Lord Mandelson who said Mr Cameron was "desperate to give the impression that he is home and dry" but in fact voters were "firmly resisting his soft soap campaign".

'Sky's the limit'

Addressing supporters in Blackheath, south-east London, Mr Clegg accused Mr Cameron of "breathtaking arrogance" and of "measuring up the curtains" at 10 Downing Street before the election had taken place.

Urging activists to "campaign every minute of the day", he said: "Anything can happen. The sky's the limit."


I'm going to fight every inch of the way and every second of the day

Gordon Brown
Mr Clegg said: "We have got three days in this most exciting election campaign, three days to change Britain for good. Three days to deliver the fairness... for the families and communities of Great Britain."

He acknowledged a change in Lib Dem strategy - campaigning in seats like Streatham and Lewisham that the party would not have expected to win. Mr Clegg told the BBC: "We are reaching deeper into parts of Britain that have been let down by Labour in particular for so long."

The Lib Dems have also released a list of celebrity supporters - which includes actors Colin Firth and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, satirist Armando Ianucci and campaigner Bianca Jagger.

Meanwhile Mr Brown has been joined by his own celebrity supporter, Dragons' Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne, in visits to Basildon and Ipswich on Monday morning.

Equality plans

He acknowledged he was "fighting for my life" in what he described as "a post global-financial-crisis election".

He said the government needed to make the "right calls" and "judgement and wisdom" were needed while the Tories had been on the wrong side of the arguments during the economic crisis.

"It is a Labour majority government we need," he said.

"I'm going to fight every inch of the way and every second of the day to tell people in Britain that fight for the future must mean people look at our plan and what we're proposing."

The Conservatives have unveiled plans for a "contract for young people" - to guarantee them help with training and getting jobs and are setting out plans for new rules aimed at forcing listed companies to hire more female directors, proposals to close the gender pay gap and set up mentoring schemes for female and ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

Labour is concentrating on its "seasides manifesto" to boost resort towns and help them benefit from opportunities in low carbon businesses and economic regeneration.

The Lib Dems will turn their fire on the Conservatives arguing they would not reform the banks and rebuild the economy because they are "in hock to the City of London".

The three leaders will also address a CitizensUK election "assembly" of about 2,500 people in London. Each will speak for 10 minutes before taking questions from a panel about "civil society".

The offensive began under cover of darkness

The offensive began under cover of darkness

Afghanistan conflict an 'information war'

By Jonathan Marcus BBC News diplomatic correspondent

It's called shaping the battlefield. It's not the traditional air onslaught or artillery barrage designed to weaken an intended enemy before the offensive goes in.

Nato is keen to portray an image of co-operation and camaraderie

Instead it's now about shaping the information battlefield, because in Afghanistan - and in modern warfare in general - information has become the new front line.

At the very heart of Nato and the Pentagon, the disciples of the new art of "strategic communications" know that perceptions matter.

Nato's top commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, made this point explicitly in a recent interview.

"This is all a war of perceptions. This is not a physical war in terms of how many people you kill or how much ground you capture, how many bridges you blow up. This is all in the minds of the participants."

Any information you send out carries with it a variety of messages.

'Telegraphed'

Take the current operation in Helmand. It has been broadcast widely in advance. It even has a not-so-catchy title: Operation Moshtarak, which in Dari translates as "together".

Gen McChrystal has called the Afghan conflict a "war of perceptions"

So there you have it, already three messages, if not more.

The operation's title is in a local language and it stresses the idea of partnership - doubly signifying that this is a joint operation between Nato and Afghan government forces doing the job "together".

The advance warning too sends a crucial signal - it is part of a deliberate and explicit strategy to encourage civilians to take precautions; to calm and inform tribal leaders; and perhaps to encourage some Taliban fighters to make themselves scarce.

"This operation has certainly been telegraphed in advance far more than previous operations," one Nato insider said, "but the alliance has been doing this kind of thing for some time.

"The message is clear. We are determined to take the area, but in such a way as to minimise violence", the official said. "But if we have to fight for it, we will win."

'Psy-ops'

That sounds just a bit more like the traditional kind of message you would expect at such a time, but the reality is that on the information battlefield, just as in operations on the ground, things have changed dramatically.

The danger is that if things on the ground get messy, there will be no hiding from it Michael Clarke Royal United Services Institute

What began as inducement or encouragement for troops to lay down their arms, or basic instructions to civilians not to get in the way of military operations - think leaflets dropped by aircraft in World War II - has blossomed into almost a social science of cause and effect.

Psychological operations or "psy-ops" of the 1950s have morphed into information warfare.

There have been uneasy debates about where the boundary line between this and the traditional press officer's role should be, because, let's face it, the media is an involuntary actor in this drama too.

However the new discipline of strategic communications seeks to go beyond information operations, press briefings and leaflet drops. It is, in the words of one alliance official, "an over-arching concept that seeks to put information at the very centre of policy planning."

When you are fighting wars within communities in an effort to secure popular support for one side or another - the traditional struggle for hearts and minds - you can see how central the concerns of the new strategic information warriors have become.

In some ways, this is at the very core of modern counter-insurgency strategy.

'No hiding'

However there are limitations, not least those related to the ubiquity of the modern mass media.

In strategic communications, the messages you are sending must fit the facts on the ground Nato 'information warrior'

As Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute in London, said: "Strategic communications can only ever give out one message. They've tried in the past to put out split messages and it doesn't work."

So much of what people hear in Helmand province, they also hear in Britain and in other troop-contributing countries.

"There's a positive side to this," says Mr Clarke, "It's a consistent message, but the danger is that if things on the ground get messy, there will be no hiding from it." The information frontline is in effect everywhere.

This growing centrality of information and the need to shape perceptions inevitably prompts critics to suggest that this is all not so new after all - isn't it just one huge propaganda exercise writ large?

Not surprisingly, one of the new Nato information warriors disagrees.

"In strategic communications, the messages you are sending must fit the facts on the ground," he says. "The discipline is about bringing perceptions and reality together to achieve an effect."

'Untidy end'

Many critics may remain unconvinced seeing the whole thing as a giant spin-machine intended to accentuate the positive and present one particular carefully-controlled narrative of events.

Advance warning has been sent to Taliban leaders and militants

Because that, in a sense, is what is at stake - it is a battle for the narrative.

Whose interpretation of what is happening is going to prevail? This new focus raises uncomfortable questions for anyone involved in the information business. Perceptions matter in another way too.

There is unlikely to be a tidy end to the Afghan conflict. Nobody really can define what "victory" or "defeat" in the traditional sense might mean.

So if it is to be an untidy conclusion then what people think about it - how they judge the outcome - really does matter.

It used to be said that: "Britain won its wars on the playing fields of Eton."

But now a new kind of warfare means that the information battle has to be fought on multiple fronts by multiple actors.

From the fields of Helmand to the small towns of Kansas; from the tribal areas of Pakistan to British cities where voters are girding themselves for a coming election, the news from the Afghan battle-front will shape perceptions - and these perceptions will inevitably shape future policy

-led forces say they are making good progress hours after launching the biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

There were clashes as more than 15,000 US, UK and Afghan troops swept into the Helmand districts of Marjah and Nad Ali in a bid to secure government control.

The Afghan regional commander said 20 militants had been killed. Two Nato soldiers are confirmed to have died.

A Taliban commander reportedly said his men were retreating to spare civilians.

Operation Moshtarak - which means "together" in the local Dari language - is being led by 4,000 US Marines, supported by 4,000 British troops, with Canadians, Danes and Estonians.

'Heavily booby-trapped'

The BBC's Frank Gardner, with Nato forces at Kandahar airbase, says the test of the operation's success will not be on the battlefield.

AT THE SCENE Ian Pannell BBC News, Nad Ali It's been a very successful day for British forces. They were able to move into several key villages and establish a foothold. Broadly speaking, they met little resistance. There was sporadic gunfire. One RPG was fired over the location where we are based. It's fair to say that the Taliban decided to move out of the district. Many civilians have also left, and the challenge in the coming days and weeks is to persuade them to come back, to establish meaningful security and then allow meaningful governance to take place. What will make a difference is if there is meaningful security established and if the local people feel confident enough to place their faith in local security forces. This is an operation that has only just begun and it will take weeks and months before we know how successful it has been. Operation Moshtarak: Diary

It all depends on whether the coalition can hold the ground and bring lasting security and good governance to the population of central Helmand.

A spokesman for Nato's Isaf force has confirmed to the BBC that two soldiers have been killed in Operation Moshtarak.

One died in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack and another from small-arms fire. No further information has been released on the location.

Three US soldiers were also killed by an IED, Nato said, although it is not clear whether they were part of Operation Moshtarak.

Mohammad Zazai, commander of Afghan troops in the operation, said: "So far, we have killed 20 armed opposition fighters. Eleven others have been detained." The casualties and captures were in separate incidents.

Troops have been advancing carefully, picking their way through poppy fields, trying not to set off Taliban bombs.

A canal bridge into Marjah was so rigged with explosives that US Marines had to erect temporary crossings to reach the town, reports the Associated Press.

Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal told a news conference the Taliban had "heavily booby-trapped the area".

Marjah resident Abdul Wahaab told AFP by telephone as he and his family left the town: "We were sleeping when all of a sudden we heard this horrible noise - it was helicopters bringing in soldiers.

"As we were crossing the village we saw US and Afghan soldiers on the junctions. There were lots of them."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who approved Operation Moshtarak, warned troops to avoid civilian casualties, and called on Taliban fighters to lay down their weapons.

Nato says Marjah is home to the biggest community under insurgent control in the south.

'On the hop'

It was estimated there were between 400 and 1,000 militants based there before Operation Moshtarak was launched.

MARJAH: 'TALIBAN STRONGHOLD' Town and district about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Lashkar Gah Lies in Helmand's 'Green Zone' - an irrigated area of lush vegetation and farmland Last remaining major Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand Area considered a centre for assembling roadside bombs Key supply centre for opium poppies - lucrative revenue source for Taliban Estimates of Taliban numbers range up to 1,000 Population of Marjah town put at 80,000 while the whole of Marjah district is thought to have 125,000 Who are the Taliban? Conflict reaches critical juncture Details on Operation Moshtarak

Marjah has also long been regarded as a linchpin of the lucrative network for smuggling opium - the raw ingredient used to make heroin - harvested from Helmand's poppy fields.

Nato Commander Maj Gen Nick Carter told the BBC the offensive had been "so far extremely successful".

"Indeed it would appear that we've caught the insurgents on the hop - he appears to be completely dislocated," he said.

Later at a Ministry of Defence briefing in London, Maj Gen Gordon Messenger said the UK force of more than 1,000 troops had secured their "key objectives" at the start of Operation Moshtarak.

The offensive began with waves of helicopters ferrying US Marines into Marjah in the early hours of Saturday.

British troops then flew into Nad Ali district, to the north, followed by tanks and combat units.

HAVE YOUR SAY

We have little choice. We pull out, Pakistan falls. This is the era of the new domino theory.

David Cheshire, Dorset, UK

Send us your comments

Jets and helicopters fired missiles at Taliban positions.

The BBC's Ian Pannell in Nad Ali says the vast majority of villagers seem to have left the area to avoid getting caught in crossfire between the Taliban and Nato troops.

Mullah Mohammed - a Taliban commander in Marjah - told ABC News that his men were pulling back to spare any civilian casualties.

"We found civilians in massive danger so we decided to go backward just to save villagers' lives," he said. His claim cannot be verified.

Nato had distributed leaflets in the Marjah area warning of the planned offensive in a bid to limit civilian casualties.

It is the first major offensive since US President Barack Obama ordered a "surge" of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in December.

More than 1,900 Afghan police will provide support after the initial military operations end, and a large team of Afghan administrators has been assembled.

The operation is part of an effort to secure a 320-km (200-mile) horseshoe-shaped string of towns that runs along the Helmand River, through Kandahar and on to the Pakistani border.

The area holds 85% of the population of Kandahar and Helmand.

In a statement, Mr Brown said: "I condemn the execution

British anger at China execution

www.richimag.co.uk

Akmal Shaikh was arrested in 2007

The Chinese ambassador Fu Ying has been summoned to the Foreign Office amid a growing row between the UK and China over the execution of a British man.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, a father-of-three from London, was executed in China after being convicted of drug smuggling despite claims he was mentally ill.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis told the ambassador "China had failed in its basic human rights responsibilities".

The Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh had no previous record of mental illness.

Mr Lewis said after the meeting: "I had a difficult conversation with the Chinese Ambassador today.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis: 'Mr Shaikh had mental health problems'

"I made clear that the execution of Mr Shaikh was totally unacceptable and that China had failed in its basic human rights responsibilities in this case, in particular that China's court had not considered the representations made about Mr Shaikh's mental condition.

"It is an important element of a mature bilateral relationship that we are able to speak frankly about issues on which we disagree and that those concerns are heard."

ANALYSIS FROM BEIJING By Chris Hogg, BBC News The news of Akmal Shaikh's execution is being carried in state-run newspapers and on state-controlled websites here in China. Most of the articles focus on the comments made by the Foreign Ministry spokesman earlier on, when she said the judicial process was legal and fair. It's interesting to see what ordinary Chinese citizens are saying on the discussion boards. Most of these websites are state-controlled and subject to censorship but overwhelmingly the comments on those discussion sites are supportive of the Chinese government's decision. One says: "This is all a show by the British government. If it had really wanted to save Akmal Shaikh it would have negotiated in secret with the Chinese." Another says: "If someone commits a crime on our territory we have the right to punish them." There's very little discussion of the mental health issue on the websites and discussion boards. In terms of the discussions here in China, it doesn't seem to be registering.

Mr Shaikh's execution by lethal injection took place despite repeated calls from his family and the British government for clemency.

Sally Rowen, of the legal charity Reprieve, said a report from a consultant forensic psychologist had diagnosed him with bipolar disorder and delusional psychosis.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled" at the execution. However, China warned criticism of the case would harm UK-China relations.

Mr Shaikh's cousins Soohail and Nasir Shaikh, who travelled to China to visit him in prison and make a last-minute plea for clemency, said they were "deeply saddened, stunned and disappointed" by the execution.

They said: "We are astonished at suggestions that Akmal himself should have provided evidence of his own fragile state of mind.

"We find it ludicrous that any mentally-ill person should be expected to provide this."

His daughter Leilla Horsnell added: "I am shocked and disappointed that the execution went ahead with no regards to my dad's mental health problems, and I struggle to understand how this is justice."

Condemnations

In a statement issued after the execution, the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh's rights "were properly respected and guaranteed" and British concerns were "duly noted and taken into consideration".

It said: "As for his possible mental illness which has been much talked about, there apparently has been no previous medical record."

A report from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said that China's Supreme People's Court had not been provided with any documentation proving that Mr Shaikh had a mental disorder.

of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms... I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken."

Jiang Yu, Chinese foreign ministry: 'We urge Britain to correct their mistake.'

Conservative leader David Cameron echoed the condemnation, saying he "deplored and deeply regretted" the execution.

Mr Lewis, who had held last-ditch talks with the Chinese ambassador in London on Monday evening, said the execution made him "sick to the stomach".

He said the government had made 27 representations to China in two years, and believed it had done everything it possibly could.

A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Jiang Yu, told a press briefing in Beijing no-one had the right to comment on China's judicial sovereignty.

"We express our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the British government's unreasonable criticism of the case. We urge [them] to correct their mistake in order to avoid harming China-UK relations," she said.

CHINA DEATH PENALTY China executed 1,718 people in 2008, according to Amnesty International Last year 72% of the world's total executions took place in China, the charity estimates It applies to 60 offences, including non-violent crimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement Those sentenced to death are usually shot, but some provinces are introducing lethal injections Executions shrouded in secrecy Q&A: Bipolar disorder Send us your comments

The legal charity Reprieve had taken up Mr Shaikh's case for the family.

Ms Rowen, of Reprieve, said it was "outrageous" Mr Shaikh had been killed.

"The Chinese's blatant refusal to even consider [his mental illness] is outrageous and totally inappropriate," she said.

Mr Shaikh is the first EU national to be executed in China in more than 50 years.

His body will not be repatriated to the UK, and Mr Lewis said Mr Shaikh had been buried quickly "in accordance with the Muslim faith".

'No excuse'

In its statement, the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh was convicted of "serious" drug trafficking.

"The amount of heroin he brought into China was 4,030g, enough to cause 26,800 deaths, threatening numerous families," it said.

Sally Rowen of campaign group Reprieve condemned the ''barbaric act''

Mr Shaikh's family said he had been delusional and duped into a carrying a suitcase that did not belong to him when he was found with 4kg of heroin in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007.

His daughter has said drug smugglers in Poland convinced him they would make him a popstar in China.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said the Chinese authorities had showed not only a lack of compassion, but a "profound ignorance" about how a mental illness such as bipolar disorder could affect a person's sense of reality.

"Mr Shaikh's lack of official medical records is no excuse for failing to give him a psychiatric assessment or offer him the treatment he needed," she added.

Charity MDF, The Bipolar Organisation, described the execution as "medieval rough justice" and an "absolute tragedy".

Spokesman Robert Westhead said: "The way the Chinese authorities have stubbornly failed to take account of this poor man's severe mental illness shows that China is still stuck in the dark ages."

Tony Blair told the BBC

Religion seen an 'oddity' by ministers, Archbishop says

Government schemes de-normalised religion, Dr Williams said

The Archbishop of Canterbury has accused the government of treating religious faith as an "eccentricity" practised by "oddities".

But Rowan Williams told the Daily Telegraph ministers were wrong to think it was no longer relevant to society.

Political leaders should be more open about their beliefs, he added.

Dr Williams also suggested a new "supermarket ombudsman" should be established to protect the interests of Britain's rural economy.

"We need more care in holding together the environmental and conservation agenda with food protection in some areas," he said.

Pope's invitation

Dr Williams told the Telegraph: "The trouble with a lot of government initiatives about faith is that they assume it is a problem, it's an eccentricity, it's practised by oddities, foreigners and minorities.

"The effect is to de-normalise faith, to intensify the perception that faith is not part of our bloodstream. And, you know, in great swathes of the country that's how it is."

He said it would not do "any harm" for political leaders to be more open about their religious beliefs.

He said the three main part leaders "curiously" all have a "very strong moral sense of some spiritual flavour".

Part of establishing their human credentials is saying 'This is where my motivation comes from Rowan Williams

"Part of establishing their human credentials is saying 'This is where my motivation comes from... I'm in politics because this is what I believe'. And that includes religious conviction."

Dr Williams also played down the Pope's invitation for disaffected Anglicans to cross over to Rome.

The Vatican says it was responding to pleas from Anglicans unhappy about the creation of women bishops. The proposal would allow Anglicans to convert while preserving many of their traditions and practices.

Dr Williams said: "A great many Anglo-Catholics have good reason for not being Roman Catholics.

"They don't believe the Pope is infallible. And that's why they're still pressing for a solution in Anglican terms, rather than what many of them see as a theologically rather eccentric option."

In 2007, former prime minister Tony Blair told the BBC that while his faith was "hugely important" to him, he avoided publicly speaking about it for fear of being labelled.

"You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter," he said.

The prime minister's ex-spokesman Alastair Campbell famously warned reporters: "We don't do God."

Iraq inquiry to focus on Bush-Blair relationship

Many UK politicians criticised Tony Blair's closeness to George Bush

UK-US relations in the run-up to the Iraq war are to come under scrutiny as ex-US Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer gives evidence to the war inquiry.

His evidence is expected to touch on the personal relationship between Tony Blair and former President Bush and the extent to which this influenced policy.

The inquiry was told on Wednesday of reports days before the war that Iraq had dismantled its chemical weapons.

But Foreign Office officials insisted the war was still justified.

The inquiry is looking into UK involvement in Iraq between 2001 and 2009, with the first few weeks focusing on policy in the build-up to the 2003 US-led invasion.

Intelligence claims

Sir Christopher, UK Ambassador to Washington between 1997 and 2003, will take centre stage on the third day of public hearings.

Critics of the war claim that the US had already decided to topple Saddam Hussein in 2002 and that the UK had agreed to go along with this - claims both countries have denied.

The reasons for going to war in Iraq - including the now discredited claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could be used within 45 minutes of an order being given - remain a long-standing source of controversy.

INQUIRY TIMELINE November-December: Former top civil servants, spy chiefs, diplomats and military commanders to give evidence January-February 2010: Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and other politicians expected to appear before the panel March 2010: Inquiry expected to adjourn ahead of the general election campaign July-August 2010: Inquiry expected to resume Report set to be published in late 2010 or early 2011 Iraq inquiry: Day-by-day timeline

On Wednesday, senior Foreign Office official Sir William Ehrman told the inquiry that a report shortly before the invasion suggested Iraq's chemical weapons may have been "disassembled".

"We did... get a report that chemical weapons might have remained disassembled and Saddam hadn't yet ordered their assembly."

A separate report suggested Iraq might also "lack" warheads capable of spreading chemical agents, he added.

However, Sir William - the Foreign Office's Director general of defence and Intelligence between 2002 and 2004 - said there was "contradictory intelligence" and these reports did not "invalidate" the fact that Iraq had chemical weapons.

"It was more about their use. Even if they were disassembled the (chemical or biological) agents still existed."

'WMD surprise'

Sir William insisted that the role of intelligence in the decision to go to war was "limited".

He also said it was a "surprise" no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, saying "it was not what we had expected".

WITNESSES ON THURSDAY SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER-UK Ambassador to Washington 1997-2003 Q&A: Iraq war inquiry Analysis: tolerant or critical? How US has investigated Iraq war Iraq inquiry 'suffocated' - Clegg

The Lib Dems said Sir William's comments seemed to contradict Tony Blair's statement in Parliament that Iraq posed a "clear and present danger" to international security.

Asked to explain the absence of WMD and why the UK government had got this wrong, Sir William noted a "great deal" of the intelligence about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons production provided before the war had been withdrawn afterwards as false.

Addressing the overall threat posed by Iraq in 2001, officials said it was "not top of its list" of countries causing concern because of their stated desire to develop weapons of mass destruction.

With sanctions in place against Iraq, the Foreign Office believed Saddam Hussein could not build a nuclear weapon and, even if sanctions were removed, it was estimated it would take him five years to do so.

Officials said most evidence suggested Iraq's chemical and biological programme had largely been "destroyed" in 1991.

Although reports in late 2002 suggested Iraq was rebuilding its capability, they said intelligence about its actual position had been "patchy" since weapons inspectors were expelled in 1998.

But they maintain the threat posed by Iraq was viewed as "unique" because it had shown itself willing to use weapons of mass destruction on its own people and its neighbours.

Terrorist links

The inquiry also learnt that the UK investigated and rejected suggestions of links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

Following the 9/11 attacks, the Foreign Office looked at the matter "very carefully" but concluded the two were not "natural allies".

The inquiry, looking at the whole period from 2001 to 2009, was set up by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also chose the panel.

Mr Brown and predecessor Tony Blair are expected to be among future witnesses, with the final report due early in 2011.

Previously, the Butler inquiry looked at intelligence failures before the war, while the Hutton inquiry examined the circumstances leading to the death of former government adviser David Kelly.

Gordon Brown said Mr Blair would make an "excellent president"

Blow to Blair's hope of EU post

Mr Blair has not publicly commented on whether he wants the job

Tony Blair's hopes of becoming president of the European Council are fading after his supporters failed to secure the backing of EU leaders.

Gordon Brown said Mr Blair would make an "excellent president" but there were "many candidates who may come forward".

Meanwhile ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which creates the post, moved closer after EU leaders struck a deal with the Czech president.

Mr Brown said they had cleared the way for the treaty to be ratified.

No 10 has signalled that a defeat for Mr Blair's candidacy is now "a clear possibility".

'Excellent president'

The former British PM has not declared himself a candidate but British ministers, including Mr Brown who is at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, have been talking him up for days.

Speaking at the end of the summit, Mr Brown said: "I think I am right to say that Britain has someone in Tony Blair who would make an excellent president of the Council of the European Union.

"I think there are many people who are members of the council who accept that and believe that to be true."

Gordon Brown: "I believe his credentials are well proven"

But he added: "I recognise also that there are many candidates who may come forward, some have already indicated their intention to do so, but I do believe that Tony Blair will remain an excellent candidate."

At the summit EU leaders agreed to grant the Czech Republic, the only EU state not to have signed up to the treaty, an opt-out from the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Mr Brown said he believed that the meeting had "cleared the way" for the Czech Republic to ratify the Lisbon Treaty - should the country's constitutional court rule in its favour next week.

Once that happened European member states would discuss the position of the presidency and the commissioners, he said.

'Slim' chance

If it is ratified it will also increase pressure on the Conservatives - who oppose the treaty and say there should have been a referendum on it - to spell out what they will do if they win power and it has come into force.

Conservative leader David Cameron told the BBC: "If that comes to pass we'll set out straight away what our approach to that important issue will be."

The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Brussels said Mr Blair's chances of becoming the first president of the European Council - a post created by the treaty - seemed "slimmer today than before".

POSSIBLE PRESIDENTS? Tony Blair - former British prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker - Luxembourg's prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende - Dutch prime minister Vaira Vike-Freiberga - former president of Latvia Wolfgang Schuessel - former chancellor of Austria Felipe Gonzalez - former Spanish prime minister John Bruton - former Irish prime minister Names in the frame Gavin Hewitt on Blair's prospects Send us your comments

A lack of support from European socialist leaders has served to undermine Mr Blair's chances.

However the leaders failed to back any prospective candidate and have now set up a three-man team to decide on their position.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Fayman, who will be one of the three on the panel, expressed doubts about Mr Blair's prospects.

Mr Fayman said: "My personal opinion is that the candidate ... should have an especially good relationship with (President Barack) Obama and not stand for a good working relationship with Bush."

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero also failed to endorse Mr Blair. Mr Zapatero said: "We have all heard names. But the work to achieve a larger consensus, that is going to take some time."

Mr Zapatero also raised the prospect that the socialists might instead decide to seek the post of high representative for foreign affairs.

This would leave the presidency open to a centre-right candidate, thereby ruling Mr Blair out

blair ran gave it to brown the clown

GORDON Brown has been urged by a grieving family to "stand up to the mark" to protect Our Boys in Afghanistan.

Relatives of Taliban blast victim Paul McAleese blame the PM for his death - and for leaving British soldiers horrendously exposed to enemy bombers.

In a devastating letter sent to Downing Street, they revealed how Rifles serjeant Paul told them - just before he and a colleague died - that he and his comrades were sitting ducks.

Letter . . . for Prime Minister

It said: "I believe they were not killed by the Taliban or the insurgents: they were killed by whoever sent them out there knowing that they did not have the equipment necessary to do it with any degree of safety."

Paul - killed by a bomb while trying to reach a soldier hit by an earlier blast - blamed a chronic shortage of manpower, surveillance kit, vehicles and helicopters.

And the 29-year-old told how the situation was so dire that British troops were powerless to stop enemy fighters planting deadly devices just YARDS away from the gates of their base.

The letter to No10 was penned by new dad Paul's furious father-in-law Stephen Minter with the support of the soldier's widow Jo, mum Kim and sister Hayley.

Wedding day . . . Paul and Jo

In an echo of The Sun's "Don't you know there's a bloody war on?" campaign, RAF fireman Mr Minter told Mr Brown:

Because of you, I now have a 26-year-old daughter with no husband, and a five-month-old grandson with no father.

As the Prime Minister, you must accept responsibility for the deployment of our troops. You have a duty to ensure they are provided with the best equipment available and the operational tactics that are used are sound and sensible.

Failing to ensure this will be seen as an act of neglect and should not be allowed to go unanswered. I plead with you to stand up to the mark. Protect our troops and stop the needless killings of our sons, husbands and fathers.

The family revealed their anger on the day TWO more British soldiers died - one from Paul's ravaged unit, the 2nd Battalion, the Rifles. Like Paul, he was killed by a hidden "home-made" Taliban bomb, known as an Improvised Explosive Device, or IED.

The other victim, from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, succumbed to wounds five days after being blown up in a Viking armoured vehicle - which cannot withstand IED blasts.

It brings the death toll of Britons in Afghanistan to 216 since 2001. Both men will be named today.

Mum Kim, 50, told The Sun: "Paul was going to tackle his superiors about these issues when he got back home.

"Don't get me wrong, he was a 100 per cent committed soldier. But he felt he could no longer keep quiet about the things he was seeing because of his strong sense of responsibility to the guys out there with him."

Anger . . . Stephen Minter

DAVID HARTLEY

Kim spent a precious last few days with Paul and his first child Charley when the serjeant - whose dad is famous SAS siege-buster John McAleese - took leave in July. Sister Hayley, 26, wept as she said: "I want Gordon Brown to listen.

"Enough is enough. If you can't bring them home, let's make them safer and allow them to do their job properly."

Paul's unit is charged with holding the Afghan town of Sangin, a notorious Taliban stamping ground.

The MoD admitted last month commanders had to move troops AWAY from Sangin to form the attacking force for Operation Panther's Claw elsewhere in Helmand province. That left Paul's battle group dangerously exposed.

IEDs have killed 13 and wounded more than 70 soldiers from the 600-strong 2 Rifles in the last four months. Seven deaths were from Paul's small outpost, Forward Operating Base Wishtan. Military chiefs have levelled blame at Mr Brown, saying he refused an urgent request from top brass for 2,000 reinforcements before the bitter summer tour started in April.

No10 last night confirmed Mr Brown had received the letter - and would reply soon. A spokesman said he was "determined to give the troops every support". 

archbishop pacafist cnd member ?

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - Trade Unions

to CND, I am researching certain instances, I wonder wether you could
indicate wether Mr. Toy Blair was a member of your organisation , also
wether he still is, and does your organisation have any comment on the
actions of him as one of your members, this would be appreciated so I can
assess the material I am writing for it's correctness.
Richard Thurgood/richimag

CND reply /thank you for your e-mail. I'm afraid that such information comes under
the remit of the Data Protection Act - we cannot disclose details
regarding members.
Sorry we could not be of more assistance with this enquiry - please feel
free to let us know if you have any other questions we can help with.

Trade Unions

Trade unions are vital to CND's campaign against the replacement of Trident and our long standing commitment to achieving the global abolition of nuclear weapons.

Today CND has national affiliations from UNISON, CWU, RMT, FBU, TSSA, ASLEF, NUM and UNITY.

Other unions, including the UNITE sections TGWU and AMICUS, and also UCATT, the NUT and the NUJ have voted to oppose the replacement of Trident