The Spectator

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The Spectator

Bookbenchers: Peter Lilley | 17 March 2013

From our UK edition

Peter Lilley MP is the Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, and has been an MP since 1983. He was a Cabinet minister in both the Thatcher and Major governments, and today talks to us about Waugh, Tolstoy, and his quest for timeless literature. 1) Which book is on your bedside table at the moment? The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Roger Penrose 2) Which book would you read to your children? I think I would read them the Chronicles of Narnia, I am told they're very good. 3) Which literary character would you most like to be? Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov. 4) Which book do you think best sums up 'now'?

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 14 March 2013

From our UK edition

Sir David must stand down Sir: Reading the reports of Sir David Nicholson’s evidence before the House of Commons Health Committee on 5 March 2013 (Leading article, 9 March), it seems to me inconceivable that he could remain in his post. We are informed by the Prime Minister that in the current circumstances the NHS is unable to do without him. But nobody is indispensable and in any case, to judge by Sir David’s recent performance, he is incompetent, a hopeless leader, has a very poor memory and is more interested in saving his skin than in the wellbeing of NHS patients.