More hot air from the lofty loudmouths

AFTER the Malaysian Airlines disaster we discover that the authorities can scan millions of records and detect when someone is flying on a stolen passport – but only after the plane has crashed. If we can do no better than this, the fight against terrorism is lost.

"OPPORTUNITY knocks only once but temptation leans on the doorbell." From Sunday Worship (Radio 4) at Lichfield Cathedral.

MORE religion, this time from Indonesia where they have a major habitat problem, thanks to illegal logging and trade in wild animals. Now, we in the West know all about protecting the environment, don't we? First, governments spend a few million dollars setting up global conferences. These are attended by tens of thousands of experts, activists and assorted do-gooders who fly thousands of miles burning millions of gallons of aviation fuel and then issue protocols to reduce air miles and conserve fuel. Next, you can drag a royal prince away from his wild-boar hunting to say a few words about saving the elephants. The strange thing is that, despite spending all these billions of dollars and wheeling out the princes, the problems of habitat loss and poaching get bigger, not smaller. In Indonesia, they are trying something much cheaper. Senior clerics have simply issued a fatwa telling that nation's 200 million Muslims: "All activities resulting in wildlife extinction without justifiable religious grounds or legal provisions are haram (forbidden)." In other words, no good Muslim would do such things. It will be fascinating to see what effect this has. It is fascinating, too, that this appears to be the first serious attempt to save the planet by appealing to our better nature, instead of throwing money around.

THIRTY-Seven Days (BBC2) was perfect. The three-part drama portrayed the diplomatic build-up to the First World War in all its bumbling, well-meaning, miscalculating, slow-motion insanity by a generation of politicians who had absolutely no idea what sort of war was coming. My only worry is that with such excellent programmes appearing months before the August 4 centenary of the outbreak of war, the broadcasters may be peaking too soon.

IAN McDiarmid as Sir Edward Grey was in award-winning form in 37 Days. He also does a fine impression of what an old Frank Skinner will look like.

CHARLES Dickens gave us Mr Sloppy, Mr Wopsie, Mr Bumble and Mr Scrooge. Had he lived longer he would probably have created the splendidly-named politician James Brokenshire. But if you can get past the name, young Master Brokenshire (46 but looks 17) has some interesting views on immigration which he says has been fuelled by the demands of the "wealthy metropolitan elite."

THIS is dangerous territory for Brokenshire because that elite, whose quality of life depends on an endless supply of cheap nannies, cheap waiters and cheap tradesmen, not only has a vested interest in migration but also dominates the politics and media of this country. Brokenshire has taken a public hammering for his speech. And yet who can argue with his central point that "ordinary hard-working people" (he means the working class) have not seen the alleged benefits of unplanned mass immigration? It is British plumbers, electricians, building workers, retail staff and labourers who have felt the impact of it. As a politician, columnist or academic, it is so easy to stand in your ivory tower and scream "racist!" at anyone who is troubled by the greatest influx of newcomers in 1,000 years. These lofty loudmouths might take a different view if every coach arriving at Dover were stuffed with brilliant, hard-working politicians, columnists and academics, happy to do their jobs at half the rate.

"WOULD you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?" Question posed to BBC TV chief Danny Cohen when he invited serious discussion on Twitter.