Richard Ingrams' Week: Another accidental death, another bereaved parent

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, it was reported yesterday, is to examine the police's investigation into the death of Stuart Lubbock, whose body was found in Michael Barrymore's swimming pool in March 2001.

Despite evidence suggestive of sexual assault, no one has ever been charged. An inquest in September 2002 returned an open verdict.

No date has been set for an inquest into another death which in many ways echoes that of Mr Lubbock. One night in December 2006 a young actor, Mark Blanco, was found dead in the street having apparently fallen off the balcony of a flat belonging to Paul Roundhill, the agent of singer Pete Doherty.

At a party in the flat Blanco was reported to have got into a drunken row with Doherty.

Like Barrymore, who fled from his house after Stuart Lubbock's body was found, Doherty did a bunk. He left the flat before the police or ambulance arrived and went off to another party, stepping round the body of the actor, who was still alive. Blanco died later in hospital.

As in the Barrymore story, no one has been charged and there is still no date for an inquest. Like Stuart Lubbock's father, who has campaigned for an inquiry, Blanco's mother Sheila is not out for revenge of any kind, just desperate to discover what the circumstances were that led to her son's death.

Nobody who was at the party has said anything publicly, nor have they ever contacted any member of Mark Blanco's family. CCTV footage subsequently cleared Doherty of any blame. If the Barrymore case is anything to go by, they may have to wait some time before the authorities get round to discovering what happened.

What has Waitrose got against me?

I like to think of myself as a reasonably respectable senior citizen, a property owner, a company director with a healthy bank balance, a state pension, not to mention assorted perks and privileges.

So I was surprised when my application for a John Lewis Partnership card was turned down for the reason that my credit rating was not considered good enough.

It was all the more surprising as, in addition to the points already listed, I have for many years now been a regular customer at my local Waitrose.

Of course, I can manage to get along quite happily without a John Lewis Partnership card. The experience, however, has brought home to me just why it is that so many people are concerned about all the personal data that is nowadays stored on computers and that we know nothing about.

I find it an unsettling thought that somewhere inside that massive data bank is something telling John Lewis that I am not the sort of person to be trusted with one of their credit cards. And they are not even obliged to tell me what it is so that I can hope to persuade them of my financial probity. What is more, in the process of applying for my card, I have given them a number of details about my finances (bank account, etc) which will no doubt be filed away on their computer for possible future use.

Before I withdraw my valuable custom from Waitrose I am prepared to give them a final chance to reconsider. And perhaps they will tell me just what it is that they have got against me, so that I can try to come to terms with it.

* They are already tipping possible new jobs for Lord Browne, whose career at BP came to an abrupt end this week following disclosures about his lying statement in a court action. Could he be made the new head of English Heritage? He is said to be a man with wide interest in the arts and a good friend of the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, pictured above. It would certainly be a pity, they are saying, if someone of Browne's obvious talents as a businessman were to be lost to the community.

All this is in keeping with the modern view that if you are good at your job it doesn't matter what else you might get up to. You can shack up with a rent boy and lie in a sworn affidavit but that shouldn't be allowed to interfere too much with your successful progress through life.

Mr Blair has not shacked up with a rent boy, let us be clear about that. Nevertheless, he has been shown to have lied on a number of crucial occasions and on issues rather more serious than those affecting Lord Browne. He is also under suspicion in connection with the alleged sale of peerages and is the only prime minister in history who has been interviewed by the police in connection with possible offences. This matter is still unresolved.

But as with Lord Browne, none of this is going to be held against him when he retires. And as with Lord Browne, they are already listing all the highly paid jobs which will be his for the asking. It is even suggested that he could become some kind of roving ambassador in the Middle East despite his popularity rating in Arab countries remaining obstinately at zero.

I am surprised no one has so far suggested that he could take over the presidency of the World Bank from Paul Wolfowitz. But then Wolfowitz, who used his position to get money and jobs for his girlfriend, is considered to be a clever man and an effective president. So why should these little irregularities be held against him - any more than those of Lord Browne or Mr Blair?

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