Ely may not have Mary Portas, but it is fortunate in having business woman Caroline Bailey in its midst to lead on the challenge of ensuring that local businesses and the city's high street remains vibrant for years to come.

This is not the time for...

Just over a year ago I recorded this video of Sir Richard Branson at Prof Stephen Hawkings' 70th birthday symposium in Cambridge. Branson told me he was planning to enter space on his Virgin Galactic by the end of 2012 with his children, and that Prof...

'Gentle anarchy' and political diplomacy are the essential tools which Sir Paul Nurse is equipped with to drive forward Britain's agenda as a world leading innovator of science.

The Nobel prize winner (an honour awarded for his collaborative discovery on what controls the division and shape of cells),...

With Christmas Eve only 10 days away, a traditional time for happy family reunions and celebrations, I wonder, what does the festive season mean for children in care or from broken families?

One man who has the answer is former Children's Minister Tim Loughton who was

Imagine being an NHS hospital patient requiring blood products and the treatment you received gave you HIV, as well as other serious contaminants, causing death and lifelong debilitating illness.

That is what happened to many hundreds of haemophiliacs in the UK more than 30 years ago,...

I always think of Dr Carrie Pemberton Ford when the subject of women bishops is raised. I worked with her once to promote CHASTE - Churches Alert Against Sex Trafficking across Europe. Feeling disappointed after the latest blow for women bishops in the Church...

This week is National Adoption Week, but you would scarcely know it unless this is a topic which interests you personally as there has been virtually no national media coverage about it, especially compared to last year's amazing headlines featuring campaigner Francesca Polini.

This is very...

This is a follow up to my previous post about contaminated blood. Let's hope someone in government is listening.

Patients whose lives were devastated after being treated with contaminated NHS blood have urged the government to consider their suffering over the last three...

Innocent patients and families of those infected with contaminated blood provided by the NHS - 2,000 of whom died as a result - are hoping that the outcome of the Penrose inquiry in Scotland into this terrible tragedy will pave the way...

I was stunned last week to learn that shift workers who work through the night face an increased risk of breast cancer. This includes our emergency services, nurses and care workers, as well as call centre and airline staff.

The revelation came from Prof Gordon Wishart,...

It's never too late for an apology.

The shameful slur against football fans over the Hillsborough tragedy and the cover up by police led to a national outcry and an apology after 23 years.

Let me remind you about a 30 year scandal where victims still seek justice...

It's astonishing to realise that in spite of our advanced medical technology and years of dedicated research, there are no biomarkers approved for the screening of breast or lung cancer - the two most cancers for men and women around the world.

Figures just published by the

I was fascinated to read that socialite author Santa Montefiore has had paranormal experiences since a child. Surely with her high ranking pedigree, her accounts must be credible!

In yesterday's Sunday Times Style magazine, Santa describes seeing shadowy people shuffling about in her bedroom...

IVF is regarded by many infertile couples as the answer to their dreams, their last desperate chance of becoming parents, especially as many today are leaving parenthood until later in life.

Tragically, infertility affects one in six people in the UK, about 3.5 million, with 125,000 couples diagnosed infertile...

Cast your mind back six years ago to when Twitter and Facebook were an insignificant part of our lives and the jubilant announcement that London was to host the 2012 Olympics. How many of us used mobile apps back then?

The Herculean feat achieved in delivering London 2012′s multiple digital...

I recently described the intimidating process which families have to endure when challenging their LEA's special educational needs provision for their child. Did you realise it comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, and that tribunal hearings can take place in magistrates' courts?

This is the...

As I walked along the Cambridge towpath today with my rambling club, scores of university rowers whipped past me, practising hard for one of the highlights of their year - the bumps - when more than 1500 rowers are expected to compete for glory.

The bumps race involves...

Brandon Lewis is the latest MP to say Early Day Motions are an expensive and ineffective lobbying tool, and that he wants nothing to do with them. So the questions are, what real value do they have, and if there isn't any, should their role be...

I had no idea about burials laws until coming across Wendii Miller, a Cambridge graduate, who carried out her own DIY burial for her 98-year-old mother Doris, even digging the grave after collecting her corpse from Grimsby Hospital mortuary and driving her mother's remains back to a burial...

I read that Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray had joined Weight Watchers in her latest attempt to fight the flab, and thought how great it would be if she could join me for a week at Champneys boot camp to shed a few more...