OOO

@jk_rowling JK Rowling is not just a great writer but truly a class act. Her moral clarity is actually humbling.

I'm seeing quite a bit of comment about this, so I want to make a couple of points. I'm not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created. The idea is as ludicrous as me checking with the boss I had when I was twenty-one for what opinions I should hold these days. Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology. Such beliefs are legally protected, and I wouldn't want to see any of them threatened with loss of work, or violence, or death, because of them. However, Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right - nay, obligation - to critique me and my views in public. Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created. When you've known people since they were ten years old it's hard to shake a certain protectiveness. Until quite recently, I hadn't managed to throw off the memory of children who needed to be gently coaxed through their dialogue in a big scary film studio. For the past few years, I've repeatedly declined invitations from journalists to comment on Emma specifically, most notably on the Witch Trials of JK Rowling. Ironically, I told the producers that I didn't want her to be hounded as the result of anything I said. The television presenter in the attached clip highlights Emma's 'all witches' speech, and in truth, that was a turning point for me, but it had a postscript that hurt far more than the speech itself. Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence 'I'm so sorry for what you're going through' (she has my phone number). This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family's safety. Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one line expression of concern from her would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy and kindness. Like other people who've never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is. She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I'd be astounded if she's been in a high street changing room since childhood. Her 'public bathroom' is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door. Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool? Is she ever likely to need a state-run rape crisis centre that refuses to guarantee an all-female service? To find herself sharing a prison cell with a male rapist who's identified into the women's prison? I wasn't a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous. I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women's rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges. The greatest irony here is that, had Emma not decided in her most recent interview to declare that she loves and treasures me - a change of tack I suspect she's adopted because she's noticed full-throated condemnation of me is no longer quite as fashionable as it was - I might never have been this honest. Adults can't expect to cosy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend's assassination, then assert their right to the former friend's love, as though the friend was in fact their mother. Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public - but I have the same right, and I've finally decided to exercise it.

@KateRaworth @RoryStewartUK @campbellclaret @RestIsPolitics I am an avid listener of the podcast and have just recently re-read Doughnut Economics. I would love to imagine how the Doughnut Economics model can be brought to life. Please make this podcast happen. It really deserves a special episode to discuss.

Hi @RoryStewartUK & @campbellclaret - you've twice fleetingly mentioned Doughnut Economics on your podcast @Restispolitics in the last few weeks - if you want to dive into discussing it, I'd be more than happy to join you. #doughnuteconomics #restispolitics

A brilliant achievement for @FairByDesign and all involved! @jrf_uk @BigSocietyCap @comicrelief @SocialTechTrust @TNLComFund @trustforlondon @thetudortrust 👏

@ECHist37 @RBKC @GretaThunberg @Conservatives @LindaAWade @mspalding007 @HamishAdourian @RBKC_CS @VivienAviva @SamGyimah @FelicityBuchan @KCFConservative Unfortunately the tree had decaying fungus and the plan is to replace it. Please don’t make political capital out of a tree.

@RBKC What would @GretaThunberg say? Why have @conservatives led #Kensington #Chelsea council chopped down a tree on Eardley Crescent? @LindaAWade @mspalding007 @HamishAdourian @RBKC_CS @VivienAviva @SamGyimah @FelicityBuchan @KCFConservative #TreeAngel #GE2010 #SW5 #London

We're delighted to announce our investment in charity P3 to enable it to provide homes for those risking homelessness - Social and Sustainable Capital socialandsustainable.com/news/sasc-inve…

The @ImpactInvInt will build deeper links between #instinv & the social sector. Tonight we gathered the two @ToynbeeHall for our launch. Peter Harrison CEO @Schroders “This is one of the most important initiatives for the social & financial sectors."

Proud to have created this gender lens property fund (WISH Fund) with Patron Capital as a solution to the lack of affordable, safe and secure #homes for #women who are experiencing #homelessness, are #exoffenders, survivors of #domesticabuse.

@mattforde She isn’t pretending there are quick fixes to easy problems. People don’t like that. The age of instant gratification.

@GregHands it may be a good idea to speak to your canvasser outside West Brompton station this morning. Not a good idea to say “Ni Hao” to East Asian looking people walking by. I’m from Hong Kong and British. I don’t speak Mandarin, only English and Cantonese.

@KCFConservative It may be a good idea to ask your canvasser outside Weat Brompton station not to say “Ni Hao” to all East Asian looking people walking by. I’m British and don’t speak Mandarin and from Hong Kong where the official language is Cantonese. Thank you.

Well done to @GavinJFrancis and the team @Worthstone for putting on another #impactinvestment academy. Great to see the momentum build year on year 👍🏻 & your work to help the adviser community build their knowledge in #impact

Would you like to help transform the way mainstream financial markets help deliver deep and lasting impact on people in the UK? We're looking for an Investment Director to join our team. Find out more: bit.ly/2CY1Mfb

I was delighted to be judging @Worthstone Impact Awards. Congratulations to @TriodosIM @BaillieGifford & @resonanceltd #impact #impinv #welldeserved

@mattforde Excellent and I look forward to this every day. Keep it going.

We can get hung up on metrics and frameworks - which has its place but it’s seeing how it actually affects a person’s life that makes what we do matter. #socinv #impinv

@DavidGauke Thank you for everything you have done. We need people like you in politics. Sincerely hope you will stand as an independent.

My message to the members of South West Hertfordshire Conservative Association.

Jeremy Rogers, CIO of @BigSocietyCap commenting on the launch of Zamo Capital: "As interest in the sector accelerates, we are looking to support the growth of high potential managers we see in our portfolio." Via @FT on.ft.com/32alMoZ #impinv #socinv

Vince Knowles of @ceniarth "You can move a lot of money into impactful investments without sacrificing the integrity of your portfolio." #socinv #impinv

Jeremy Rogers: "Our society is becoming increasingly unstable, and much of this is due inequality. There is an urgent need to find solutions, and we're seeing an increasing number of these solutions across our portfolios." #impinv #socinv