The Spectator

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall.  For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there’s no need to stay ‘on topic’ – which means you’ll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There’s also no constraint on the length of what you write – so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything’s fair game – from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Credit where credit’s due Sir: I’m not sure if my colleague Bob Marshall-Andrews is happy to be seen as some kind of showbiz personality (‘I’m not an ambassador for New Labour’, 9 August). However wrong Bob was, in my view, in strenuously opposing allied military action which ended ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, he has undoubtedly contributed a good deal on issues concerning the rights of individuals in this country. As for the proposed 90 days’ pre-charge detention, which the government wished to see introduced in 2005, it was in fact my amendment reducing the figure to 28 which the House fortunately agreed to. Hopefully the Lords will ensure that it remains at 28 and not 42 days.

…here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Tim Hedges, in the first ever Sunday Essay, explores the state of Italy today.  Kaz Mochlinski looks beyond the façade in his eyewitness analysis of the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing.  Peter Hoskin reveals what Polly Toynbee doesn't get, and wonders whether Gordon Brown intends to use “Britishness” as a rallying call.  And James Forsyth warns against accepting Russia's attempts to exert suzerainty over its neighbours.

Part-time heroes Sir: I noted with interest the article about ‘lazy firemen’ (‘Britain’s firefighters are underworked and inflexible’, 26 July). I am Lincolnshire’s Chief Fire Officer with more than 35 years’ service, and though there was much truth in what Leo McKinstry said, what he failed to address was the progress made by many fire authorities with part-time staff who are not represented in the unions castigated in your article. More than half of my fire stations employ part-time staff who respond to the most urgent medical emergencies either in a car or in a fire engine and provide immediate life-saving intervention while the professionally qualified paramedics are en route.

This week's CoffeeHousers' Wall is here. Head over there to have your say on the week's events, and to let us know what you'd like to see on Coffee House.

Here are the July monthly traffic figures for Spectator.co.uk: Unique Users --- 197,403 Page Views --- 1,886,333 These figures represent an impressive year of growth across the site, and include your favourites: Coffee House, Melanie Phillips' blog, Stephen Pollard’s blog, Clive Davis’s blog and, of course, the weekly magazine content. Thank you to all of our users for making it possible. Keep an eye out for the exciting new features we will be adding to Spectator.co.uk over the coming months.

On Colombian ‘democracy’ Sir: Tristan Garel-Jones’s article misrepresents Justice for Colombia’s work by implying a common agenda with the Farc (‘The day I was kidnapped’, 12 July). JFC works to defend human rights in Colombia. We were the only British organisation to campaign for the release of Ingrid Betancourt. Last year we brought over Ingrid’s mother and relatives of other hostages, arranging events for them in Parliament, at the Law Society and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office — Lord Garel-Jones was invited but did not attend. He says Colombia is democratic, civilised and friendly, as we are sure it is if you are a visiting British dignitary.