Ellee Seymour

I await with much interest for this afternoon’s announcement about Andy Coulson, former editor of the News of the World, being appointed the Director of Communications for the Conservative Party, whispers which were disclosed on Iain’s blog.

If true, there will naturally be associations made between him and spin doctoring which the public - and hopefully Tories too - are keen to distance themselves from following the Alistair Campbell/Blair era.

We need to establish trust during a time when there is considerable mistrust of politicians and apathy among voters. I would like to know what Coulson’s credentials are for this role, how he can win over public confidence when he is used to working on sleazy stories. The last thing we want to be known as is a tabloid Tory party.

Coulson was the paper’s editor when its royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed earlier this year in a phone-hacking scandal involving Prince William and other celebrities. Coulson escaped unscathed, apparently unaware of these devious activities, but resigned the day the two men were sentenced.

Interestingly, the appointment already has the seal of approval from Matthew d’Ancona, editor of the Spectator magazine, who describes it as a “coup”, saying:

“That’s a real coup for them because Andy’s a very good journalist and highly respected.

“It follows a great deal of speculation that the Conservative party was looking for an Alastair Campbell-type figure.

“As the debate over grammar schools has shown, and also the failed attempt to get Greg Dyke as a candidate for mayor of London, the closer that you get to power and the more that you have pressure applied to you, the more important it is that you have a big figure in charge of communications.”

Despite my reservations, David Cameron is obviously very media savvy and will have thought this through thoroughly.  If this decision turns out to be a disaster, the repercussions will be considerable, it could cost us the next election. I think we are in for some very interesting times …..

I stumbled across this tragic story and later discovered it had a happy ending. I hope it will help other families of missing children to maintain their faith during their ordeal.

Shawn Hornbeck was riding his bike in October 2002 in Missouri when he vanished without trace. He was only 11. Vigils were held to mark his birthday and anniversary of his disappearance. His story attracted nationwide media coverage.

Then miraculously, just over four years later, he was found alive and well, along with another boy who had been abducted a few days before their discovery in January. A man has been charged with kidnapping, sexually abusing and attempting to kill Shawn, he has denied the allegations.

This is Shawn’s amazing story:

On Sunday, October 6, 2002 while out riding my bike my life changed forever. I vanished without a trace not far from my rural Richwoods, Missouri home. An intensive search was mounted by federal, state and local authorities, but there were no clues as to what may have happened to me. My parents, along with family and friends announced their intentions to form a private organization to continue the search for me. The response was overwhelming, as thousands of volunteers responded to their pleas for help over the next several months. But still no clues were found. Rumors ran rampant that I had been struck by a car and taken away, or had run across a drug lab and been killed. My parents still never gave up hope, and continued their search - week after week, month after month.

They put my picture on billboards, and in every store and gas station. Countless family and friends put their lives on hold and helped look for me and other missing children. Months became years and still they looked for me. Psychics and frauds loudly proclaimed my demise and told my parents they had talked with me from beyond. But still they kept looking, never giving up hope. I prayed every day that my parents would find me. I knew my parents weren’t giving up, and neither would I.

On Friday, January 12, 2007 my life changed forever once again. Our prayers were answered when I and another missing child were found by authorities in an apartment in Kirkwood, Missouri - ALIVE! I was finally reunited with my family after nearly four and one-half years of captivity. I’ve begun the process of healing and look forward to making up for the time I have lost with my family and education. Our love, hope and faith have kept us strong and will see us through the days ahead.

I hope this story gives hope to the families of young boys like Daniel Morcombe who also vanished without trace.

In memory of those who are still missing.

How can anyone argue against the heartfelt case of Inuit leader Aqqaluk Lynge, pleading for an end to the expansion of Stansted Airport to help save villages and hunting grounds across the Arctic?

A public inquiry was launched today to boost passenger numbers by another 10 million a year to 35 million. The plan had been rejected by the local authority on grounds of climate change, believed to be the first time reason this was cited.

This case is really going to test the commitment of our government to promote climate change and work on solutions. The countryside surroundings stunning Stansted and there is no doubt that this expansion will  have a detrimental impact on the local community and environment. I know because it is my local airport.

And these protesters in a letter published in today’s Times note that it is ironic that the inquiry has started just days after the end of National Noise Week! 

But back to the Inuits. Just imagine if our villages and habitat was at further risk of destruction because of climate change, that homes were going to be lost, what would we do? 

This is what Aqqaluk (pic) says, who is head of Greenland’s indigenous population:

“When I was a boy in north Greenland, the sea ice formed in November. Now we don’t see it for months after that. All our certainties are being changed by global warming, from the location of hunting grounds to the loss of our homes to the rising sea.

“This is caused by pollution from the South. There is now a connection between our backyard and your backyard and we would like to you to question some points of your lifestyle such as flying and creating more emissions.

“That is why Stansted is important. Getting on a plane in England for a cheap holiday is felt here on the ice today and for you tomorrow. We are not even 160,000 people but global warming is not just threatened polar bears and melting ice. It is about our right to a viable existence.”

It was a stroke of genius to invite the Inuit leader to the inquiry, which he will attend in person at the end of July. In written evidence to the Stansted inquiry Aqqaluk, who was asked to appear by the Stop Stansted Expansion group, details how one Inuit village in Alaska has already lost 10 homes to the encroaching sea, which has moved 300ft inland since 2000. Engineers predict all 600 houses face being swallowed by 2050.

What would we do if we were in their shoes? Who is listening to Aqqaluk from his home in the Arctic? Who can fail to listen to him now?

Best selling crime writer Patricia Cornwell is suing another author for libel claiming his internet smear campaign is destroying her reputation and has stifled her creative flow.

Lots of bloggers may sail close to the wind, but are  hopefully aware of the laws regarding online defamation. However, it seems Leslie R Sachs has repeatedly overstepped the mark.

The whole case is very bizarre, and like Rachel from North London, Cornwell’s life has been made a misery by her cyber bully.

Cornwell wants a judge to prevent Sachs from writing about her on the internet. Sachs did not appear in a recent court hearing, claiming that he was living in Europe. He calls himself a refugee who fears for his life because of Cornwell’s alleged hatred and power.

Cornwell also claims that she fears for her safety because of Sachs’ writings, which call her “a Jew-hater,” “a neo-Nazi,” and “a felon.” She said Sachs’ behavior has damaged her reputation, threatened her ability to research, and stifled her creative process.

Their conflict began after Sachs accused Cornwall of copying his book The Virginia Ghost Murders, a paperback published in 1998. Sachs began writing to publishers, placing stickers on his own book, and using the Web to criticize Cornwell after she published The Last Precinct two years later.

So the forthcoming Conservative Women’s Organisation’s forum on cyber bullying is very well timed. I would like to see a legal expert  join their panel of speakers, Tim Loughton, Shadow Minister for Children; Louise Burfitt-Dons, an expert on bullying; and Niki Molnar, web designer. The forum is being held on Tuesday, 26 June and is open to anyone interested - men too, and you don’t  have to be a committed Conservative either. Contact Elaine Hall for further info on Elaine.Hall@Conservatives.com

What’s so awful about this is the sheer helplessness when defamatory comments are being spread this way. A person’s good reputation is priceless. It has happened to me to a much lesser degree and I felt devastated, hoping nobody would believe a word of those spiteful and vindictive lies.

At the end of the day, it is the law and court action that must be enforced rigorously to stop these most intensive and distressing cases of cyber bullying.

Kevin Hicks was 16 when he popped out to buy some eggs from the local  shops one bitterly cold evening. He never returned home. That was in March 1986 - 21 years ago. He is now aged 37; the age progression pic shows him at 33.

It is the ordinariness of the situations leading up to many disappearances that I find so harrowing. Kevin had earlier enjoyed a Sunday lunch with his family and even helped his dad wash up afterwards at their home in  Addiscombe, Croydon. He later popped out to buy the eggs which he needed for a school exam the next day.

His disappearance has been featured on Crimewatch and extensive police searches have failed to come up with any leads. Every Christmas, Kevin’s father hopes that his son will return. He has never given up hope of being reunited.

Tragically, Kevin’s mother died of a brain tumour at the age of 42 in October 1994, having just made a television appeal for news about her son. Derek still lives in the house Kevin grew up in after his wife asked him never to move away.

In memory of those who are still missing.

Can anything be done to save the future of thousands of post offices doomed to close? Charles Hendry, Shadow Minister responsible for Post Offices, makes a convincing case about how they can survive financially, with more support from government and business.  You can find out more from his frank interview on Tory Radio.

How clear are you about the size of alcohol units if they don’t measure up in pints? What about alcopops? And surely I can drink more cider as it is not as strong as wine? I’m confused already.

Veronica Callanan also thinks the governmment’s plans about labelling alcohol is not workable. She says:

I have yet to meet anyone who counts there alcohol units, have you?

I mean, does anyone go out on a Friday night and think; “well I had 4 units on Wednesday and Monday so I can only have 4 tonight and the other 2 tomorrow lunchtime”.

Nobody does this.

The government drinking guidelines are that men can drink up to 21 units per week and women can drink 14 units per week, by the way these aren’t safe drinking levels (as there is no such thing) but low-risk drinking levels. These units need to spread over the week (not taken in one go) with at least 2 alcohol free days.

It was in the news today that alcohol manufacturers will start labelling bottles with how many units are in each bottle to help drinkers regulate how much they consume.

Don’t get me wrong anything that drinks manufacturers are willing to do to address our nations drink problem is a good thing, however there’s something here that doesn’t quiet add up. Alcohol is a mood and mind altering substance people don’t drink it because they like the taste (generally speaking who actually liked the taste when they first tasted alcohol?) we drink it primarily for the effects. And the effects are that they alter your perception slightly, loosen you up and make you feel differently so there is something bizarre about expecting people who drink this mood and mind altering substance to be able to regulate the amount they take in.

It changes how you feel, so before you drink it you may feel you only want two glasses of wine but after having those two glasses its not unlikely that you feel differently and may feel that another 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 glasses are a good idea.

It’s kind of like asking 5 year olds to regulate their candy intake all by themselves.

There’s something about alcohol that makes you want more of it no matter what your intentions were. I don’t really see how labelling bottles differently is going to change that, after all there are big labels on cigarette packets that scream “SMOKING KILLS” and thousands of people still die of smoking related illnesses every year. Well done to the drinks industry that they are doing something but they are going to have to go much further than that and take responsibility for the drinking culture they helped create. This is what needs to change.

There is a lot of money at stake here, the drinks industry is booming and the more alcohol that is sold the more taxes the government can rake in…………………is it any wonder that no one wants to regulate our alcohol intake too much?

I would be interested in your comments on this issue.

Leo Balley vanished while on a camping holiday with his father and friends  near the idyllic Lake Fourchu in the Taillefere Mountains in France nine years ago. The men were putting up the tent when the six-years-old disappeared.

Amazingly, the colour of Leo’s eyes are not known.

The lakes and forests were thoroughly searched for signs of Leo, who is from Grenoble, but his disappearance remains a mystery. A French serial imposter called Frederic Bourdin assumed his identity in 2006, but DNA tests proved  him wrong.

In memory of those who are still missing.

Could you guess that the woman in this pic is a deranged cyberstalker who has been posting hateful messages to Rachel from North London over the last year? She looks so friendly.

She is Felicity Jane Lowde and has been convicted of harassing Rachel by repeatedly posting malicious comments on her blog and making other libelous statements.

Rachel asked me if I had had problems with any nutters when we met up the other night in London. Fortunately, not to this extent. I really do feel for Rachel and admire her courage in the way she is not caving in.

Rachel has asked for our help in finding this stalker, you can find out more here.

This is such an horrific account that I had to post it instantly after reading about it. My “missing” posts will  resume on Tuesday.

Although I dislike swearing, I do like the sentiment behind Hugh’s wacky cartoon  business card,  it’s what we should all aspire to in our own way. And it’s certainly one way of being memorable.

What’s the most unusual business card you have ever had?  I collect so many cards on my networking rounds, most of them are pretty ordinary, my own included. Maybe I should ask Hugh to design something eye-catching specially for me.

I know the weather forecast is rain this weekend, and then more rain, and I have planned a barbecue which will be in the lap of the Gods. Whatever you are doing, have a good break.