Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be too clever by half. The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters.

Ronnie Barker will forever be remembered as one of the great comic actors.

The argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change.

The British don't runaway from terrorism. We have had 30-odd years of terrorism in our own country from the Irish Republican Army. We're used to it.

The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision.

There are more myths about Black Wednesday than the Greeks ever created.

Too many people looked to me in the eye and did not tell me the truth.

Well British troops are superb in the field in terms of conflict.

Well, I have concerns about the effectiveness of Europe to compete.

Well, I think there's a distinction between sexing-up the intelligence and sexing-up the presentation of the intelligence.

Whatever efforts for peace President Gorbachev had in mind, they were pretty substantially undercut very swiftly by Saddam Hussein.

When I was in office the fundraising was done by the party treasurers.

When the euro was born, it was born in the wrong economic circumstances.

Whether you agree with me or disagree with me; like me or loathe me, don't bind my hands when I am negotiating on behalf of the British nation.

You don't forget crises and neither does the Queen.

You've had an extremely weak euro on the foreign exchange markets, you've had a very dubious policy being followed.

'Government gets things right' does not encourage sales. 'Government makes another blunder' does encourage sales, so there's a commercial imperative that pushes sensationalism.

I have a huge admiration for the House of Lords, I have a huge admiration for the people who work in the House of Lords, they're great public servants and they do an absolutely tremendous job.

I have been reading the press more regularly than others over 50 years and it seems to me that there are things that have changed in the press that have changed its character.

I mean if you have ever found a politician who says, 'No, no, I would do everything exactly as I did,' then you can tell when he is lying because his lips are moving.