Peter Rhodes on axes, freebies and the truth about politicians' salaries

The frankest thing I ever heard on the subject came from a General Election candidate some years ago. She was a wife, mum and councillor who worked in her husband's shop. As she prepared to contest the election, what did she think of an MPs' pay? “For people like me,” she said, “it's like a pools win.”

A few years ago a friend's wife was dying of cancer. One night she was struck with agonising pain. It was pitch-black and raining but her husband, although elderly and wary of the roads at night, figured the quickest way to get her to hospital was to drive there.

At the hospital, staff explained that they could give him a prescription for the drugs but there was no-one on shift qualified to dispense them. The nearest dispensing chemist was in another city ten miles away. Somehow, he made the drive and collected the painkillers. But it was a bitterly stressful experience.

I suspect two of the biggest NHS stress-inducers for Joe Public are a) locating a strange hospital and b) finding somewhere to park. Which is why my eye was caught a few days ago by news of a trial between the private-hire app Uber and some NHS hospitals to take people to and from hospitals.

The aim is to cut the appalling number of missed hospital appointments, running at about eight million per year. But in the process might it be extended to help unite patients with their medications on dark and treacherous nights?

Back in March I suggested The Crown (Netflix) had produced a great performance by Salim Daw. As I wrote then, Daw played Mohamed Fayed, “a man who is often seen as a villain of the Diana tragedy, in a generous, amusing and humane light.”

Seven months later, Fayed is denounced as a serial rapist and the Netflix version looks like a right royal gaffe.