‘I'd heard bombs before, so I knew it was a bomb.’

Forty years ago this month, Robin Butler - Principle Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher - was in the room with the prime minister when the Brighton bomb exploded nearby in their hotel.

‘This is our opportunity to show that terrorism can't defeat democracy’

Now Lord Butler of Brockwell tells the Lord Speaker about his experience, from their initial reaction to the blast, to going back to retrieve the prime minister’s papers, and shares Margaret Thatcher’s response to his suggestion she postpone the start of the Conservative Party Conference the next morning.

‘I devoted my life to assisting politicians with government.’

Lord Butler worked closely with five prime ministers, from Edward Heath to Tony Blair. In this episode he shares his experience of working with each of them either as private secretary or cabinet secretary. He speaks about later work of prime ministers on Northern Ireland, negotiations with Europe, why he joined the civil service and the growing role of special advisers. He also shares his thoughts on reforming the Civil Service, arguing that ‘you’ve got to reform it constantly… But you've got to lead the Civil Service in my view, and not drive them’

Hear more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/

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‘This morning, even this morning, I was in my prayer saying to God, "What am I doing here?”’

Justin Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, senior bishop in the Church of England and leader of the bishops in the House of Lords, speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith.

‘Growing up was pretty complicated to put it mildly.’

In this expansive interview, he speaks to the Lord Speaker about his early life, what drew him to the church from the oil industry and the path to ultimately become Archbishop. He shares that he had an unlikely route to ordination, let alone becoming Archbishop, having been told ‘there is no place for you in the church.’ He also reflects on his time as bishop in Coventry, Durham and Liverpool, including his work on poverty, reconciliation and the Community of the Cross of Nails, and meeting the Pope. Lord McFall also asks about their joint work on the banking sector following the 2008 financial crisis, whether politics and religion can intersect, and what the Archbishop’s hopes are for the next generation.

‘I think that in the public sense, you put on a role, you wear it… Privately, we're just the same as anyone else. We wonder about the right thing to do.’

The Archbishop also discusses the experience of his sometimes very public role, occasionally acting as ‘vicar to the country’ and offers an insight into his part in both the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/

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Lord Speaker’s Corner returns for a new Parliament and Lord McFall of Alcluith’s first guest is former Director General of MI5 and Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Jonathan Evans, Lord Evans of Weardale.

‘MI5 in those days was very secretive, had a very low public profile… it was only on day two of my initial training course that I realised I'd actually joined MI5.’

In this episode, hear from Lord Evans about his experience at MI5, including his work in Northern Ireland and later tackling the threat from Al-Qaeda. You can also hear about his role as head of the Service at a time it was increasingly opening up while confronting new challenges.

‘We are faced with an increasing alignment between states that are hostile to our values and, in some cases, are actively war fighting in Europe… it's extremely important that we are as integrated in our response.’

Lord Evans also explains how threats have changed since he joined MI5, the importance of the UK’s international relationships for security and the impact of countries such as China, Iran and Russia.

‘I think the fact that we are operating in so many countries demonstrates that conflict is one of the big drivers of problems in the world, one of the biggest humanitarian challenges in the world.’

Lord Evans is the Chair of the HALO Trust and shares his thoughts on the work the charity does and why it is important, explaining that ‘communities impacted by conflict can't rebuild’ without support.

Lord Evans also reflects on his work in ethics as the former Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life under previous prime ministers: ‘There may be a short-term advantage in bending the rules, but there's a long-term advantage in being seen to be acting with integrity.’

See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.