Melanie Phillips

The Speaker of the House of Commons, the holder of a post that dates back to the 14th century, is the very personification of parliamentary authority.

He is not merely the person who presides over debates and can punish members who break parliamentary rules.

Published in: Daily Mail

Where does Whitehall get them from? Is there perhaps an agency which specialises in picking, as candidates for public service, Sixties throwbacks who are guaranteed to set the public's teeth on edge?

Yesterday Sir Al Aynsley-Green, who rejoices in the title of the Children's Commissioner For England, accused the poli

Published in: Daily Mail

In the torrent of criticism which engulfed the Archbishop of Canterbury after his remarks about sharia law, which united politicians, Muslims, Anglicans, Catholics, Hindus, Sikhs and atheists, certain voices were conspicuously absent, at least until today.

Published in: Jewish Chronicle

So that's all right then.

The Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks about sharia law were completely and totally misunderstood. He has apologised for his ‘unclarity’ and expressing himself clumsily, but definitely not for what he said. End of story.

Published in: Daily Mail

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is fighting for his professional life after saying that the application of Islamic Sharia law in this country was ‘unavoidable’ and that it was not an ‘alien and rival system’ to English law. The unprecedented outpouring of fury at his observations has caused peopl

Published in: Daily Mail

Britain's family doctors, admired around the world, are thought of as the lynchpin of our National Health Service. In their role as gatekeepers to the hospitals, they typically build up a personal relationship of care with their patients, which has given them a high place in the nation's affection.

Published in: Daily Mail

While politicians of all parties are transfixed with horror by the expenses scandal in case their own practice of employing their relatives is suddenly held up to public obloquy, the revelations are likely to have far more serious consequences.

Published in: Daily Mail

For too many people, having to go into hospital is made infinitely worse by the grisly ordeal of being accommodated in a mixed ward. The consequent lack of privacy over the most intimate bodily functions causes untold misery for patients, especially elderly women.

Published in: Daily Mail