Masood Ahmed brings to the position of director of external relations extensive experience gained in a range of senior positions in international finance and development.

I delivered lectures and I was also a consultant for international companies in finance both private equity and big venture capital funds.

It is usually people in the money business finance and international trade that are really rich.

The number one lobby that opposes campaign finance reform in the United States is the National Association of Broadcasters.

People just want to hear some common sense... and I bring to bear the experience in local government and state government and national government - I was the first woman in history on the Senate Finance Committee - not to mention the diplomatic international experience.

I think however that so long as our present economic and national systems continue scientific research has little to fear.

How are fears born? They are born because of differences in tradition and history they are born because of differences in emotional political and national circumstances. Because of such differences people fear they cannot live together.

I have been thinking about the notion of perfect love as being without fear and what that means for us in a world that's becoming increasingly xenophobic tortured by fundamentalism and nationalism.

Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency.

I know I had my equivalents in Adrian Lester and Lenny James when I was at drama school. I remember David Harewood doing 'Othello' at the National and Adrian Lester having done Cheek by Jowl's famous 'As You Like It and Company' at the Donmar. Not necessarily performances I saw but just the fact they happened was massively encouraging.