Over the past six years I have been involved with a number of issues, both as an MP and as chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, involving corruption in sport. In many of these scandals it has been investigative journalists who first brought the issue into the light. Often journalists have provided […]
The ticketing industry in the United Kingdom has become a national scandal. Fans are being ripped off left, right and centre if they want to buy tickets to see their favourite performers. When someone uses the term "tout", many people will instantly think of the shadowy figures found standing around concert venues and sports stadia calling out […]
Last year I took a group of young people on a tour of the House of Commons; one of the pleasures of being an MP, but nothing out of the ordinary. The difference on this occasion was that I was with a group of young ex-offenders being supported by Key 4 Life, an organisation that […]
Once again, it is a private investigation that has exposed how easy it is for people interested in enriching themselves through sport to try to flout the rules. It is incredible that an England football manager would enter into negotiations with people he didn’t know, to provide insights and guidance over how they could get […]
As if further proof were required, the news that 14 Russian athletes slated to compete at this summer’s Olympic Gameshave returned positive urine samples for banned substances should now put the debate to bed: there is absolutely no way Russia’s track and field stars can be allowed to compete in Rio this summer. Rocked by […]
When we send our children to school, we expect them to get an education. Should we not similarly expect that those we send to young offender’s institutions (YOIs) should leave rehabilitated? Changes to policing – such as scrapping arrest targets and antisocial-behaviour orders (ASBOS), plus more effective and collaborative interventions by local authorities, the police […]
Tennis is now the latest sport in the spotlight, following allegations in an investigation by the BBC and BuzzFeed, of a match-fixing and gambling scandal involving a core group of 16 players, all of whom have ranked in the top 50 in the world. Some of these players are currently competing in the Australian Open […]
House building has rebounded since the end of the financial crisis; but to meet the challenge of drastically increasing the size and quality of our housing stock we will have to go further still. The Housing and Planning Bill making its way through parliament has the clear ambition of increasing the supply of homes in […]