For the past week or so I have hardly dare switch on the news. Each day has brought further news of financial chaos and the banks, where most of us have placed what little savings we have seemed to be teetering on the brink of total collapse.

Young people do not get a good press these days but are we being given a balanced picture? There have been so many reported incidents that one might be forgiven for thinking that the majority of young people are lurking on street corners with concealed knifes in their possession.

During the past few weeks, writes Terry Waite, the public have been subject to a stream of political memoirs which have delighted the press. Astute journalists have been able to comb the pages of these offerings and highlight the passages which criticize the behaviour of their former colleagues or acquaintance. What does this say about the ethics of our politicians?