BLAIR GIVES AN ASSURED PERFORMANCE

“Even if you look back now it was better to deal with the threat,” he said. Whether you agree with the Iraq War or not, Tony Blair put in a superbly slick performance at the Chilcot Inquiry on Friday. It was gripping television and reminded me how far the government’s credibility has fallen since he handed over the reins to Gordon Brown. The Campbell-Blair duo were master wordsmiths and able to make anything sound reasonable. Friday’s hearing was a nod back to the days of Labour’s communication strengths in the late nineties and early noughties.

The Times acclaimed his pure image, power dressing and personal grooming, which made him seem strong and authoritative in front of the inquiry panel. In fact, Blair [pictured, BBC] ended up asking the panel questions, such as what would have happened if Saddam had been left in power, and he had clearly done his homework. The difference between Brown and Blair is that the latter knew how to convince people of anything, which made him a strong leader. It’s no wonder Labour were so strong ten years ago, but are now being overtaken by the Tories. Bring on the election...

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“The citizen little realises the vast machinery put in motion for him in exchange for his morning penny,” said Lord Copper in the 1938 novel Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh. Now the challenge 72 years on is to make readers realise the value and effort involved in online newspapers, and charge for the content. Occasionally somebody comes up with a great idea for making this happen - so step forward Peter Preston [pictured, University of Sheffield], in yesterday’s The Observer.

He said: “Watch as 10 million Sky subscribers get an offer they can't reasonably refuse. How about beyond-the-wall access to four big British papers [for] as little as 50p extra a month? £6m a month for that is £72m – in a trice the losses on Wapping's more upmarket offerings are turned to profit.”

What a fabulous idea. Sky has already proven it can get customers to buy phone and broadband with televisions, so why not newspapers? News International owns The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times, so a 50p monthly fee to read those online could work wonders. It seems simple enough and could save those four papers. Where it leaves everyone else is another matter, which gives weight to the argument that all newspapers should work together online to ensure their joint survival.

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I do feel a little bit sad for John Terry [pictured, BBC]. We all make mistakes, and - as Tiger Woods knows - a sexual slip-up can have a damning effect on sporting careers. We know why the super-injunction was passed over the media - he wanted to protect himself and his family from adverse publicity - but the use of these in court is becoming a problem. Even the government say they are “very concerned” about it. The fact is that if you are a public role model (and have been voted ‘Dad of the Year’ by a sauce manufacturer), the public have the right to know if you’re not as good a role model as was once thought.

The other issue is of how this affects Terry’s England captaincy. He has been a strong leader of the national side over the last few years, but there are other players who could take the captain’s armband. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard would both be possibilities. Putting both Terry and Wayne Bridge on the plane to South Africa must be causing a headache for the England management, but if they had to choose either, I think Terry will get the nod. But we’ll have to wait and see.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The case of the brothers who tortured two boys has shocked South Yorkshire and beyond. “You evil b******s”, screamed one of the victim’s mothers last week. Sheffield Crown Court heard probably the worst crimes committed by children in this country since James Bulger over two decades ago. But what is perhaps even more concerning than the horrific evidence is how the boys were brought up at home - a complete lack of discipline and instead a diet of drugs, sex and explicit films.

The judge banned their identification because it would harm their rehabilitation, although this was contested by the media. Naming bans nowadays carry little weight anyway, as you can easily find out what somebody is called by searching online forums - and, even so, both boys were well known in the Edlington community. The courtroom scene is pictured [Getty Images].

As much as what they did last April was almost unbelievable, I can understand where the judge was coming from. He wants to see them eventually get out of prison reformed - given the care and positive attention inside that they have lacked so far in their lives. It has cost a fortune to rename and rehouse the Bulger killers, so that has to be used as a template. The most important aspect of this case is not condemning the boys’ actions - as tempting as that might be for the media - but rather look at how the authorities can use what happened to ensure this is never repeated again.

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It was pleasing to see The FA Cup back to its best this weekend. Tottenham being held by Leeds, Stoke putting out Arsenal, Reading beating Burnley and Southampton edging past Ipswich. Even the lowest-ranked team, Notts County, got a replay against Wigan. If Sol Campbell [pictured, Independent] wanted The FA Cup this season then he would have had more chance staying put in Nottinghamshire rather than going back to the Gunners.

Three weeks ago I criticised fans of clubs for not turning out to games, but attendances were pretty good this time in the fourth round. I went to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday to watch Newcastle lose 4-2 (in what must be one of the worst refereeing performances I’ve ever seen), and the Toon brought over 3,000 fans from the north-east with only 10 days of notice, which I thought was a sterling effort. Shame the same could not be said for the man in the middle.

Anyway, overall it was good to have a few upsets over the weekend - and the fifth round draw has thrown up some tasty ties like Southampton v Portsmouth and Derby v Birmingham. I’m pretty sure Leeds will get there too - I wouldn’t fancy a midweek trip to Elland Road ten years ago or today. Old ’Arry must be quaking in his boots...

> By the way, you may like to know that I typed this blog with only one hand. The other one got injured playing football yesterday. Hope it's still a good read ;)

HEAVEN AND HULL?

Poor old Hull. It usually fares pretty badly in lists of desirable UK cities. A report today showed it is suffering most from the effects of the recession. Brighton, on the other hand, is the best place to be for economic growth. The ‘Cities Outlook 2010’ report said the English cities most likely to suffer longest from the downturn were Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley and Doncaster. On the other hand, the best places to be are Milton Keynes, Reading and Cambridge. Spot a trend? Northern cities will struggle, southern cities will prosper.

This is hardly surprising considering that most of the northern towns are still suffering the effects of industrial decline and the southern areas mentioned have economies based more around services. Another point is that they are not only closer to London, but generally much better connected by transport links.

Hull claims it is being victimised as the data does not include its more prosperous areas on the outskirts. It must be noted that the city is surrounded by Grimsby and Cleethorpes, which are hardly thriving economies either. Looking at Brighton, it’s well-connected despite being at the bottom of the country, has a strongly educated workforce and a solid private sector.

So what do we do about this divide? It’s not really acceptable that many northern cities are still suffering from the fall of industrial Britain. That’s something that should have been sorted out years ago, but the unemployment rate has continued to rise and will not get any better until well after the recession finishes. The government needs to ensure that their spending prioritises cities like Hull, as although I like being a southerner, it’s about time the country was a bit more economically even.

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It’s an absolute tragedy that Sunday Mirror journalist Rupert Hamer died in Helmand. I’ve read a variety of biographies by current and former foreign correspondents such as Kate Adie, Jeremy Bowen and Jon Snow, which has confirmed to me what a dangerous but important job they do. Media executives will meet with Ministry of Defence officials on Wednesday to discuss war reporting in Afghanistan and I can only hope they reach an agreement that will go some distance to trying to avoid another media casualty.

It’s vital that we get to hear what is going on in foreign conflicts from our own reporters, and the death of one journalist shouldn’t deter this. When war reporters go abroad they know what they are getting themselves in for. As HR Knickerbocker once said: "Whenever you find hundreds and thousands of sane people trying to get out of a place and a little bunch of madmen trying to get in, you know the latter are reporters".

DAILY MAIL WORK EXPERIENCE

It was a privilege to work at one of Britain's biggest selling newspapers for a week. I learnt so much behind-the-scenes at the Daily Mail simply by listening to editorial conversations and speaking to journalists, but I was also given a wide variety of researching and writing to get on with. The Mail are based at Northcliffe House, near High Street Kensington tube, which meant a three-and-a-half hour round trip on the train everyday from Leigh-on-Sea. It's not too bad when you've got a good newspaper and plenty of reading. I was pleased simply to have been offered a placement at the Mail, seeing as I didn't previously know anyone who works for DMGT, but made some valuable contacts in a great newsroom by the end of it. Everybody I met was helpful and supportive, so I would imagine it to be a great environment to work in all the time. Exciting, to say the least...

MONDAY
I arrived in Kensington last week in eager anticipation of what awaited me at Northcliffe House. The building looks pretty simple from outside, but fantastic when you go inside - it's even got a water feature on the first floor. On arrival, I was taught how the Mail uses a variety of databases and sources for researching people and places, and got to see the vast online and physical libraries. I later did some researching for a story on cheap ski holidays and wrote a story myself about British people's regrets over throwing away items. This story made it onto page three of Tuesday's paper, so I was pretty pleased with that for a first day's work.

TUESDAY
I was given a call on Monday evening to tell me that I should get to Luton Magistrates' Court for 10am the next day. There was a very interesting case going on about a group of seven Muslims protesting against the war on Iraq during a soldiers' homecoming parade in Bedfordshire. I got to court and had a chat about the story with the BBC local reporter, who was soon joined by journalists from the Press Association, ITV and a local paper. All of us took up a place on the press bench in the court and listened through a fascinating case, which included lots of CCTV footage. I learnt a lot about court reporting just from speaking to the other journalists there and getting together some facts and quotes on the case with Lucy from the Daily Mail. The end product was my first national newspaper byline, which I was very pleased with! Today, five were found guilty and two not-guilty.

WEDNESDAY
I was grateful that although all the trains across the country were being cancelled last Wednesday, I was still able to make it into west London from south-east Essex. Once I had battled through the snow, I spent the rest of my time in office writing about it. I was putting together what become known for the week as 'snow shorts' - snippets of funny events or statistics that had happened around the country. The majority of these came from PA or local wires, but I also found a few by scouring local newspaper websites and eight of the 12 that were eventually published on Thursday were mine, which was pleasing. It formed part of this story, which was being constantly updated throughout the week.

THURSDAY
I had been working with the newsteam from Monday to Wednesday and moved to the sportsdesk for my last two days. What interested me most about working with the sports team was their reliance on data, and the need for accurate number-crunching. Finally my maths A-Level was coming in useful! I researched parts of an 'Ultimate Guide to the Angola Action' feature on the Africa Cup of Nations, which started on Sunday, and my first prediction of a game to watch wasn't bad at all. The opening match, Angola v Mali, finished 4-4! I was also tasked with doing some statistical research on England and South Africa's cricket test record in Johannesburg, as well as compiling a factfile on former Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer, for a feature in Saturday's paper.

FRIDAY
My last day at the Daily Mail was a hugely eventful one, although it started pretty calmly. I was researching Tottenham's abysmal record away at the top four - they haven't won a league game at any of the four grounds since August 1993 - and put together some statistics using Soccerbase. I also put together a small feature as a boxout for the Patrick Viera story [pictured], on footballers who have played in England, gone abroad and come back again, which made Saturday's paper and online - 'Five Other Players Who Returned to England'. But later in the day, we heard that a bus carrying the Togo team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola had been attacked by rebels, killing the driver and injuring players. This was a massive story because of its implications for football around Africa - including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - and I immediately started researching a history of football-related African violence, as well as some statistics on Angola itself and transcribing quotes from a Eurosport player interview. These were sent through to the journalist for his story, which was rushed through for the first edition. Two later editions followed, where the story was given more prominence, and by the final edition I saw next morning, it has taken up the whole back page with an in-depth spread inside. A great example of how a story develops and another good experience during a great week.

EH BY GUM, LAD!

I love listening to many regional accents, especially Geordie. Living in Sheffield has exposed me to many new types of voice that I'd never have heard staying in Essex. Now, a series of academic studies has found that Britain's regional accents in the north are thriving, which is good news if you live in Newcastle [pictured], Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham. Conversely, Essex and Kent are beginning to lose their own distinctive accents, which is a shame for my own home county, but I've never really spoken like a proper Essex lad anyway.

It's interesting how you pick up accents when being around people. I have sometimes been heard, since living in Yorkshire, to say 'eh up' or 'bath' (not 'barth') on my return to Essex. I don't really want to say those things - I'd rather keep my heritage, thank you. But then I'm sure many northerners are proud of the identity that comes with their voice. It's great that people are proud of where they come from. One of the first things I tell people is that I'm from Southend-on-Sea. But when I hear a Geordie, they don't need to tell me they're from Newcastle. You can kind of guess.

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The noughties will unfortunately be remembered by many as a decade of terrorism. A decade when fear was struck into the hearts of citizens worldwide at who might be next. England, Indonesia, Spain, the USA and Afghanistan have all suffered devastating attacks on innocent civilians. Now Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed full body scanners [pictured in Daily Mirror] will be introduced at Britain's airports in the wake of the attempted plane attack over Detroit on Christmas Day. We are pulling out all the stops to try and stop terrorists but there are still fears that this will not be enough.

Security has always been tight at airports. I remember flying before 9/11, and it wasn't as if you could just walk onto the plane then. But terrorists seem so determined to do their 'duty' that it's unlikely we will ever completely remove the threat of aeroplane bombers. There will always be some way of cracking technology, as the shoe bomber and Detroit attempt have showed. What concerns me is that whilst all this money is being pumped into airline security, what about trains? I regularly travel on the London Underground and don't think I've ever been searched, even during rush-hour. It would simply be impractical to scan luggage and people before boarding trains as it would grind the system to a halt. But whilst all this focus is on planes, we must remember that the only successful major terrorist attack in this country over the last decade was 7/7 - on trains and buses. We must ensure that this is never repeated again.

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On a lighter note, there were lots of positives to take out of this weekend's FA Cup third-round. Colchester got hammered 7-0 at Preston, Newcastle avoided a slip up at Plymouth, Manchester United went out and ITV correctly chose a good upset for their Saturday night game at Reading. But there was also a major negative from the weekend. People just didn't turn up to watch some of the games. Wigan attracted a pitiful 5,335 to their all-Premier League tie with Hull, Sheffield Wednesday got just 8,690 for their home defeat to Crystal Palace and only 12,474 turned up for Manchester City's win at Middlesborough. All of these crowds are significantly down on normal attendances for league games at these clubs, and the turnout was hardly better at many other stadiums.

Interestingly, all three of the above attendances are quoted for teams who are struggling in the league at the moment, which may therefore be a reflection of fans thinking their managers attach little importance to The FA Cup, as they are so concerned with staying up. But nothing beats the 'magic' of the competition. I've been to some classic FA Cup games over the years - Southend v Chelsea and Southend v Canvey Island stick in the memory. More clubs should ensure they lower their ticket prices for cup games, as it's a good opportunity to get youngsters involved with clubs and make them come back for more later in the season. This isn't a disrespect to the cup - it's merely ensuring that it is maintained as the best competition in the world.

THE NOUGHTIES: A DECADE TO REMEMBER

It has been a decade of technological change, political upheaval, natural disasters, conflicts and sporting achievements. I’ve delved through the (recent) history books to present my review of the 'noughties' in 750 words. If you think I’ve missed something out that should be included, please let me know! Right then, here we go...

2000
The Millenium Bug is nothing near the threat that computer 'experts' were predicting. Google begins selling advertising against search results, which helps it buy out various companies and quickly become the people's choice for online searching. Big Brother launches and results in a number of sequels throughout the decade and a huge race controversy. Dr Harold Shipman is given life imprisonment for murdering 15 patients and is later found hanged in 2004. George Bush succeeds Bill Clinton as US President. Blockades by protestors result in a UK fuel crisis after panic-buying. 113 people are killed after Concorde crashes in Paris.

2001
Terrorists bring down the World Trade Centre on 9/11, in a devastating attack that contributes hugely towards much foreign policy throughout the decade and kills 3,000 people [pictured]. Tony Blair wins a second election as British Prime Minister. America joins forces with the UK to launch a retaliatory war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. The foot-and-mouth crisis causes big problems for farmers as the agriculture industry tries to survive.

2002
The Queen Mother passes away and her funeral is held in Westminster Abbey. The bodies of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells are found after they were murdered by school caretaker Ian Huntley, in an event that shocks the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire [pictured]. The Euro currency comes into use across 12 of the European Union countries. 202 people are killed in Bali by terrorists.

2003
World opinion is split as Iraq is invaded by 250,000 US troops and 45,000 British soldiers [pictured]. The Hutton Inquiry causes a radical shake-up in BBC editorial policy and Dr David Kelly commits suicide after being exposed as the source on the government's weapons of mass destruction dossier. England win the Rugby World Cup. Ghyslain Raza, a French Canadian student, achieves global fame from his Star Wars lightsaber online films, which help propel YouTube into the mainstream. The Ugg sheepskin boot launches in the UK and helps define fashion in the noughties.

2004
Facebook is invented and revolutionises the way we communicate with friends and relatives. Paul Foot, one of the country’s most successful investigative journalists, dies aged 66. Hundreds of thousands die in the Asian Tsunami on Boxing Day. The Madrid train bombings put transport networks worldwide on even higher alert than after 9/11, after 191 people are killed. The siege of Beslan school in eastern Europe sees 334 die.

2005
The football world unites to pay its respects to George Best, who passes away aged 59. 7/7 brings London to a standstill as we experience a major terrorist attack on our transport system and 56 people die [pictured]. Hurricane Katrina sweeps through New Orleans and becomes one of the deadliest in the country's history. Pope Benedict XVI takes over as pontiff after John Paul II dies. London wins the bid for the 2012 Olympics. Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

2006
Southend United beat Manchester United 1-0 in one of the biggest football cup upsets of the decade. Alexander Litvinenko dies after suspected poisoning after eating in a sushi restaurant. The Nintendo Wii heralds a new era in motion-sensitive video gaming. Israel goes to war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. A stranded whale in the River Thames dies despite the efforts of a rescue team.

2007
Madeleine McCann is taken from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal and has still not been found after a two-year global hunt [pictured]. Gordon Brown hands over the Treasury to Alistair Darling. Northern Rock requires emergency government funding to stay afloat and economic concerns begin to grow. The political crisis in Zimbabwe results in hyper-inflation and accusations of tyranny against Robert Mugabe. The BBC iPlayer goes live and dramatically changes how we view content and the future of television. Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in Pakistan on a dark day for politics. 32 die in the Virginia Tech college massacre.

2008
The collapse of Lehman Brothers paves the way for a recession which causes huge job losses and stock exchange crashes around the world. Barack Obama is voted in as American president and Democrats welcome a new era of politics. China welcomes the world for the Beijing Olympics and it's a rare chance for foreign cameras to picture modern life in the country. Russia invades Georgia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia.

2009
The Copenhagen summit tries to unite the world in battle against climate change and global warming. The pop music world mourns the losses of Michael Jackson [pictured] and Boyzone's Stephen Gately. The swine flu pandemic from Mexico causes worldwide panic. Cumbria is flooded and Eurostar trains get stuck under the English Channel after extreme winter weather conditions.

Bring on the ‘tens’.

PRAYING FOR PUPILS: RIGHT OR WRONG?

Maths supply teacher Olive Jones has been suspended after offering to pray for a sick pupil. We've heard a few stories of 'persecuted' Christians recently, such as Caroline Petrie, the carer who offered to pray for her patient. I felt compelled to write something about the link between faith and work after reading about Olive [pictured]. Firstly, well done to both women for talking about this so openly in the media and making sure everyone is aware of the problem. Divine healing is an exceptionally complex issue as it cannot ever be proven in stone, but this is irrelevant really - many people believe God heals and that Christian belief should be respected by all.

I think the main issue here is that a Christian has been suspended for offering to practicise their beliefs in the workplace. Maybe Olive should have prayed for the child on her own without telling them? But she didn't actually pray for them anyway - as far as we know - because the mother said they were not believers. So has she actually done anything wrong? It seems somebody thinks she did. I think that offering to pray for a friend, and them saying 'no', is fine. They're unlikely to formely complain about you to anybody - just politely say 'no'. I think many non-Christians actually wouldn't mind being prayed for by a Christian, as it's a no-lose situation really - it can't make their illness worse.

But when you take the offer of prayer into the workplace, and get suspended from your job because of it, that concerns me a little. I don't see faith and work as two separate things, and think there are many positives from being a good Christian in the workplace. But it seems even offering to pray for someone is off-limits in North Somerset. This is an interesting topic, and I'm not sure what I think yet, but eagerly await the results of the council's investigation.

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Whenever we get a bit of snow in this country, everything goes into meltdown. Schools close, roads shut, trains stop - and it's not ideal. In fairness, most railway lines over the last week - including my local one, c2c, and the London Underground - have continued to operate with a minimum of fuss. And my old senior school stayed open last Friday. But Eurostar was a different case altogether. During probably their busiest week of the year, with people returning home for Christmas across the channel or going away for a short break, five trains got stuck in the channel tunnel on the same day. The result has been travel chaos, with 2,000 people stranded underground at one point, having little idea of what was happening. It's not impressive. Eurostar has been a successful venture and it's great that Paris and London are so close in travel time nowadays, but I can't imagine this is going to help their sales next year.

The company has apologised and offered refunds, but that will be little consolation to those who were hoping to get away (or get home) for Christmas. I also think it must be one of the first times in history that a transport company has asked people only to travel with them if it's "absolutely necessary"! I hardly think many people book an expensive train journey on the off-chance that they might travel to France on that day. Almost everyone's journey will be 'absolutely necessary' as far as I can see. Hopefully Eurostar - and other travel companies - can learn from the mistakes of this episode (both technically and organisationally) and ensure that when the next cold snap arrives, it doesn't freeze up the transport system. In the 21st century, we can't be having cross-channel trains break down a few days before Christmas. Hopefully Eurostar can emerge from the happenings of the last few days better prepared for next year.

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Well done to FC Barcelona. Again. The Independent reports that they have now become the first team to ever win every competition entered in one season. The Catalans' 2-1 win over Estudiantes in the World Club Championship at the weekend capped off a remarkable year for Pep Guardiola [pictured]. There aren't many teams in history as good as this Barca side. From Lionel Messi to Carlos Puyol, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Xavi, the side's talents are astounding. Manchester City might have spent more money on their squad, including the likes of Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez, but it isn't just money that buys you success, as their ex-manager Mark Hughes discovered on Saturday.

Barcelona show that you need an excellent team spirit, top coaching, superb fans, a good youth system - and a little bit of cash too. Amazingly, Guardiola (a former Barca player) had no top-flight experience of being a manager before signing up at the Nou Camp 18 months ago, so talk about 'being thrown in at the deep end'. But he has taken the job in his stride and achieved a record no manager in the world has ever secured. A good crop of players helps, but the boss is so important in football. Just look at England under Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello - almost the same players but a completely different culture in the side who have achieved good things already. Guardiola has labelled his side 'immortals'. It's maybe a bit over-the-top, but I'm not going to argue with him...

PICTURES: BBC Online