"Many thanks for your email regarding the Lindisfarne Gospels.
I have written to the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to see if all organisations concerned can work together to bring this important piece of history to the North East for local people to see at an exhibition (I will suggest St Paul's as a local in my letter to Mrs Jowell).

I will contact you again as soon as I receive a reply."

"Amid all the talk of lies and goodbyes at the Labour Party conference in Manchester, one development went largely unnoticed: the convergence of the two men likely to dominate the party in the absence of Tony Blair. The first, of course, is Gordon Brown. The second is David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, once Blair's anointed heir and now the Chancellor's most vocal cheerleader.
It has been deeply galling for those around the Prime Minister, who spent much of their time at the conference pursuing their desperate quest for a Stop Gordon candidate, to know that their best bet has already declared himself for the enemy. Miliband's interview in the pages of this magazine (NS, 18 September), in which he gave his unequivocal backing to the Chancellor, was seen by both sides as a major event in the soap opera. It was a bitter blow to those who had hoped to derail Brown. There are still hopeful reports in the media that he might change his mind, but Miliband himself is discouraging such speculation. Such an act of treachery would be out of character.

No amount of inducements will shake Miliband from his conclusion that Labour can win the next election only if it unites around the leadership of Brown. The moment Miliband removed himself from the contest, others should have realised that the game was up. But there is no accounting for the vanity of politicians. That said, the defeat of a John Reid-Alan Johnson dream ticket will only make Miliband's position stronger.

The imminent deputy leadership contest will provide a fascinating sideshow in the months to come: an opportunity for a genuine debate about the future direction of the party. Yet it is easy to forget that there will be another vacancy when Tony Blair and John Prescott resign. If Brown takes over, he will need to fill the post he has held for nine years. He is being urged to appoint Miliband as his Chancellor."

"These awards are testament to all the hard work put in by the staff in Streetscape - not just for making sure that the Borough's green spaces, pavements and community areas looked spick and span for the In Bloom judges, but for actually growing and nurturing the plants in the first place.

The flowers they produced contributed massively to how attractive South Tyneside looked this summer, with hanging baskets, floral displays and flower-filled structures scenting the air - a real feast for the senses.

This is the second time we have won the overall silver award, and I have been told by the staff that next year they are determined to deliver gold.

So next year, once again residents living in, and tourists visiting, the area, will see the Borough in full bloom, and fingers crossed it will be third time lucky!"

"Arrangements have now been made for him to move elsewhere.
The Bishop was aware of the pastoral circumstances of someone who needed accommodation, particularly in the short-term.
That situation has now changed, and we understand Mr Devlin's solicitor has now arranged for alternative accommodation."

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Blair sees Environment Secretary David Miliband, not Mr Johnson, as his ideal successor.

'Tony feels that Alan is good but has far too little experience to become Prime Minister,' said one source. 'He says he is a lightweight and too much of an unknown quantity. You cannot aspire to be Prime Minister unless you have been tested - and Alan hasn't.

Instead, the PM is ready to throw his weight behind the even less well known figure of Mr Miliband, who ran Mr Blair's Downing Street policy unit when Labour was elected in 1997.

"David is brilliant, much more personable than he seems, and knows how to revive New Labour. For all his common touch, I don't think Johnson could do that."

"David is bright enough to be Prime Minister but he is too much like a boffin. He is Labour's John Redwood."

"It is outrageous that the protest has been banned. My son, and many others, were killed by a decision the Prime Minister made and it is only fair that we are allowed to make our views known to him. Labour are scared because they don't want the war to come back and haunt them at their party conference. Over the last few years when people have demonstrated over the war they get taken away or dragged off. When Walter Wolfgang protested at last year's conference he was forcibly ejected. We are supposed to have gone to war to impose democracy but it seems we have got less democracy in this country than in many middle eastern countries. People are not allowed to have their say - unless they agree with Blair. The Prime Minister talks about democracy a lot but he doesn't practice what he preaches."

"From now on, you can assume that anything you tell to an official or public servant will not only go on your record, but be passed on to anyone at all in "the public interest" - which has already been neatly redefined to mean 'official convenience'.

How many thousands of officials will now have free rein to snoop on your personal, business and children's lives?'

"The Bishop is aware of the proceedings against Danny Devlin and the Church agreed that bail be given as long as he lived in a local vicarage.
The Bishop recognises the gravity of the case but understands the need for pastoral support in the circumstances."