Quotes Of The Week

I never feel sexy

Actor Harrison Ford on being named "Sexiest Man Alive" by 'People' magazine

The atmosphere that is de- veloping around the question of Mr Mandelson's sexuality is worse than unwholesome: it is Clintonesque.

George Walden

Former Tory minister

The Government has swallowed its own propaganda. Having told people that things could only get better, it does not know what to do now that things are getting worse.

Francis Maude, shadow Chancellor

We are what we are. We are all different, the products of our genes and our experiences. Members of Parliament are no different from the society we represent.

Ron Davies, after quitting as Secretary of State for Wales

We haven't said they're all hopeless, but quite a few of them are.

Baroness Jay on hereditary peers

If I were gay and an active politician, I guess that I would make it known, for the thoroughly bad reason that I could not stand years of nervous waiting for some ghastly tabloid reporter to come knocking.

Lord Hattersley

Labour peer

Anybody who uses a mobile phone for more than 15 minutes needs their head examined.

Roger Coghill, researcher in bio-electric mechanics, arguing that long conversations on mobile phones can cause brain tumours

What they seemed to be saying was 'We can't be bothered with those cloth- capped middle-aged people who have the impertinence not to watch News at Ten quite as much as we would like them to. We are going for cool people in Islington at 11 o'clock'.

Gerald Kaufman, chairman of the Commons select committee on culture, on ITV managers.

Of course I want to make spectators happy, but I am not in this world to make other people happy.

Brian Laudrup, Chelsea's homesick Danish soccer star