This week’s column has been what’s commonly referred to as a ‘slow burner’ but, I hope, for good reason. A few weeks ago, Professor Anthony Glees, a terrorism expert based at Buckingham University, myself and the Guardian’s Afua Hirsch took part in a debate on control orders on Channel 4′s flagship ‘10 O’clock live’ show, and although I felt it necessary to counter the “arguments” that were made by Pr Glees, I didn’t want to rush into a precipitated, hasty re-joinder.

As the saying goes in life there are two things that you can’t avoid: death and taxes. Well, I formally suggest that this saying be revised, or at least amended, to add in ‘unless you are a Muslim, in which case you will also have to deal with schedule 7 of the Terrorism 2000 act.’ Granted it may be a little long to catch on, but the point still stands.