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Last broadcast on Sun, 5 Sep 2010, 20:30 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
On Last Word this week:
Lord Glenconner - who, as Colin Tennant, created the island resort of Mustique where rock stars and royalty had their holiday homes.
Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis, the shadowy head of the secret police in Greece who is blamed for provoking the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The prison reform campaigner Lady Anne Tree, who set up a charity to allow inmates to make money from needlework.
Michel Montignac who created a weight loss diet which allowed you to eat foie gras and chocolate and drink champagne.
Sir Cyril Smith
Liberal MP who has died aged 82
Sir Cyril Smith represented the town of Rochdale in the Commons for twenty years. Despite at one time being the Liberal Chief Whip, he was a political maverick who backed the death penalty, spoke in favour of corporal punishment and was also at odds with the Liberal policy on nuclear disarmament.
He had a larger than life personality and was believed to be the heaviest British MP ever, having had a peak reported weight of 29 stone 12 pounds.
His long involvement in local politics made it possible for him to win the seat for the Liberals in a by election in 1972.
Matthew talks to Liz Lynn, who replaced Cyril as MP for Rochdale.
Sir Cyril Smith was born 28 June 1928 and died 3 September 2010
Lord Glenconner
Former owner of the island of Mustique who has died aged 83
Lord Glenconner, who was Colin Tennant until he inherited the title in 1983, was best known for transforming the Caribbean island of Mustique from a barren rock to a playground for multimillionaires.
He came from one of the UK’s richest families. They owned houses around the world, including the family seat – a neo-gothic castle in Peeblesshire called The Glen. Colin was educated at Eton, served in the Irish Guards during the war and then read history at Oxford. He was well connected with the aristocracy and the royal family – with Princess Margaret a close friend.
Matthew talks to his biographer Nicholas Courtney and friend Sir Roddy Llewellyn.
Colin Tennant was born 1 December 1926 and died 27 August 2010
Dimitrios Ioannidis
Dimitrios Ioannidis
Greek Military officer and dictator
Brigadier General Dimitirios Ioannidis was the hated head of the Greek military police during the rule of the colonels in the late sixties and early seventies. He was part of the original military coup in 1967 – then overthrew its leader George Papadopoulos when he tried to put in place a civilian regime – and later provoked the coup in Cyprus that lead to the Turkish invasion and occupation of the north of the island. Under Ioannidis’ command, opponents of the military junta were rounded up, imprisoned and routinely tortured. He was arrested in 1974 and sentenced to death – a sentence that was commuted to life imprisonment.
We spoke to Roman Gerodimos, analyst from the Greek Politics Specialist Group and Periklis Korovesis a former MP who was arrested and tortured under the Junta.
Dimitrios Ioannidis was born 13 March 1923 and died 16 August 2010
Lady Anne Tree
Prison reformer who has died aged 82
Lady Anne Tree devoted her life to working for prison reform. She campaigned for prisoners to be allowed to make money from needlework and set up a charity called Fine Cell Work, which now employs three hundred and fifty prisoners – seventy five per cent of them men – to sew intricate pieces which are sold in designer shops. Lady Anne was the daughter of the 10th Duke of Devonshire. She grew up on the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire and was educated by governesses as the Duke didn’t believe in schooling. After her marriage at the age of twenty one, she decided to devote herself to prison visiting, starting at Holloway jail in London.
Matthew talks to Chief Executive of the charity Fine Cell Work, Katy Emck.
Lady Anne Tree was born 6 November 1927 and died 9 August 2010
Michel Montignac
Diet expert who has died aged 66
Michel Montignac created a weight loss diet which allowed people to eat foie gras, chocolate, cheese and drink red wine. His book “Eat Yourself Slim” was a best seller around the world and there were even Montingac shops and restaurants, selling food that conformed to his dietary principles. Michel was working as a personnel director in the pharmaceutical industry when he came up with his diet.
Matthew talks to nutritionist Jane Clarke and Ernest Hilton who ran a Montignac shop and café in London for many years.
Michel Montignac was born in 1944 and died 22 August 2010
Broadcasts
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Fri 3 Sep 201016:00
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Sun 5 Sep 201020:30
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