Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

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Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy and right hand man, flew to Scotland on a mysterious peace mission in 1941, which has never been convincingly explained, to meet unidentified politicians who wanted to end the war. The truth has been covered up for generations because to reveal it would somehow undermine the honour and constitutional fabric of the United Kingdom. Who was plotting against Churchill? What were the peace terms on offer? What happened to Hess? Was he killed in the War? Was the prisoner in Spandau a double?
There are many questions to which in the modern day one man, Saul Benedict has all the answers, because his parents were players in the drama involving Churchill, Hitler, leading politicians and an important Royal. Saul is an author and declares his intention to write a book to reveal all, but he is shot dead, apparently accidentally by a poacher. But was it an accident? Rick Coleman, an investigative journalist, determines to find out and in doing so to uncover the mystery.
Taking place in the modern day but with flashback chapters which gradually unfold the hidden secrets, the novel is a fast moving and compelling read based on the family knowledge of the author whose parents had connections to both Hess and Hitler and to British Intelligence.  

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This is an extraordinary development. I cannot pretend to be at all knowledgeable about Uber but I do know its service has transformed the lives of millions of Londoners, making point to point travel safe, more convenient and a good deal cheaper. Because it uses an app and works via your smart phone, it is part of the structure through which busy people conduct their business, social and family lives.

The idea is part of the new style economy developing through the internet and smart phone, which has left many traditional service and retail industries in decline and fighting for survival. That prompts anger among black cab drivers and traditional mini-cabs which remain more or less with their old business model and declining sales. The Uber system of contract employment offers little in the way of employment rights and protections but a much more independent work pattern.

Clearly political pressures have built up and Uber clearly has work to do to satisfy the authorities that it can meet the required standards, but the decision of Transport for London to refuse Uber’s licence renewal is an extreme step which looks like a bad political miscalculation. The public across the whole world consider organisations like Twitter, Facebook and Uber theirs, not the product of politicians or authorities. A solution needs to be found fast. Or this will not end well.