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I have worked in Bosnia and Croatia during the war, helping to set up a refugee camp for children and their families from all sides of the conflict. I have worked for an organization for refugees with disabilities, setting up a programme in Azerbaijan for many refugees and IDPs who required surgery for them to lead a less dependent life. I have worked as a journalist, a radio producer, a TV host and a community theatre director. Most of my jobs have brought me more pleasure than money. But that never worried me. I loved my work. And that’s what mattered most to me.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU NEED TO BE AT YOUR BEST?
I am an insomniac. Even when I was a teenager and all my friends stayed in bed all day, I only slept 3-4 hours a night. Nothing has changed since then. I feel fortunate if, on the very rare occasion, I get 5 hours sleep. When this happens I feel like a different person altogether. And it has never ceased to annoy me when people tell me: “I need at least 8 hours sleep a night. But you obviously don’t need it!” Let me tell you here and now – I DO need sleep. Most days I feel drained and exhausted before the day has even started which, in my case, can be 4am. Three hours sleep a night is not enough for anyone. I know. It certainly isn’t enough for me. How I would dearly love just once in my life to sleep a full 8 hours.
IS THERE ANYONE YOU’D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE & THANK FOR THEIR SUPPORT?
I have to say I am extremely grateful to the author, David Yallop, and my co-author, Phillip Knightley, both of whom immediately saw the potential of my research about Stephen Ward. It took them no time at all to realize I had proved conclusively that an innocent man had been framed and that Ward’s trial was, possibly, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in English legal history.
HOW DO YOU WRITE – LAP TOP, PEN, PAPER, IN BED, AT A DESK?
I have to confess – I currently write with a laptop where it is supposed to be, i.e. on my lap. I find this is the least stressful way for me to write. Sitting on a sofa is how I can both relax and concentrate at the same time. I have written at a desk before but at the moment I don’t have one large enough to accommodate my laptop, my printer and all my research papers. So I find if I spread all my papers around me on the sofa and on the coffee table in front of me, I can see everything and pick out what I need with ease rather than shuffling a large pile of papers stacked up on a desk.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK? WHAT’S IT ABOUT AND WHY DID YOU WRITE IT?
The origin of the book was way back in 1984 when I was commissioned to research a film about the “Profumo Affair”. After 12 months researching the story I realized I had far too much new material for simply a film. I knew I had the makings of an important book. And I knew I had a story, a very different story from the accepted story of the day. Retired police officers who had worked on the Stephen Ward investigation spoke to me for the first time. So did most of Ward’s surviving friends who had retreated into complete silence following the trial. Retired MI5 and FBI officers also agreed to talk to me, something they had never done before to anyone. From these more than 80 interviews I came to the conclusion that Stephen Ward had been framed – by the government of the day, the police force, the security service and the judiciary. The book that came out of this research was published 25 years ago under the title, “An Affair of State” and it became a number one best seller. This book, “How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward” is an updated version of that book, using material that my co-author and I obtained since the original publication in 1987.
“How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward” is a major expose of a government cover-up that has lasted half a century. It is a powerful story of sexual compulsion, political malice and ultimate betrayal. A number-one bestseller when it came out in 1987 under its original title, “An Affair of State”, the book reveals never-before-heard testimony that has been uncovered by the authors in the years since the scandal broke. Using startling new evidence, including Ward’s own unpublished memoirs and hundreds of interviews with many who, conscience-stricken, have now spoken out for the first time, this important account rips through a half-century cover-up in order to show exactly why the government, the police forces, the Judiciary and the security forces decided to frame Stephen Ward. Stephen Ward is now the subject of an upcoming Andrew Lloyd-Weber musical and this book offers a wider perspective on its complex, central character as well as a broader insight into one of the greatest scandals of the past 100 years. As the authors’ research reveals, Ward’s “trial of the century” was caused by an unprecedented corruption of justice and political malice which resulted in an innocent man becoming a scapegoat for those who could not bear to lose power. This is an epic tale of sex, lies, and governmental abuse whose aftermath almost brought down the government and shook the American, British, and Soviet espionage worlds to their core. With its surprising revelations and meticulous research, Ward’s complete story can finally be told.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Politics, Espionage, Scandal
Rating – PG-16
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