As the father of two mixed race children, I did have a vested interest in tuning in to BBC's 'Question Time' last Thursday to witness BNP leader Nick Griffin's controversial appearance on the panel.

Predictably it was a bit of a damp squib, and I doubt whether Griffin's appearance would have changed the opinions of many viewers, either way, on the acceptability of his party's so-called platform, or his own appeal as a leader. The bigots will no doubt still see him as a hero, while the more rational souls among us will dismiss him as a freak.

But there was one good thing to come out of the programme, and this was that representatives of all three main political parties appear to have recognised that something needs to be done about our immigration policy before it is too late. We have to accept that we are a small island, and that our best years are probably behind us. And, of course, we are effectively broke, but surely have a responsibility to provide the basics in terms of care and services first of all to our own citizens (of all religions and colors), whilst at the same time not closing our borders to genuine asylum seekers (and those whose presence will bring benefits to our society).

This is a very difficult (and emotive) subject to deal with (and there are no easy answers), but a general recognition by our politicians that there will need to be more debate about this issue is a very important first step.

And while on the subject of politicians, am I the only one who loathes the idea of women-only shortlists for MPs (Tory leader David Cameron's pet project). Come on, David, we want the best people in Parliament, and if they all happen to be women, then fine. But let's not stack the deck.

Finally, I see that Heathrow airport has been voted as the world's worst in a poll for the second year running. Clearly the 'frequent-fliers' who voted haven't spent much time at Cairo. Although the airport there has had a good face lift in recent years (and is much more modern in outlook), it still has very rude and arrogant staff checking passports and tickets. Not a pleasant experience.

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