We have two beautiful grandchildren – Isobel 6 and Nel who is 4. I look at their lustrous blond hair and into their happy blue eyes. I see in them the two billion other children in the world. They are all equally precious. I believe that not one of them should be harmed; you believe that too. We differ in that from most, so-called world leaders. Eternal shame be on them.

I was brought up by a Mother who said "share and share alike" to the four of us. My father said "do your best"and "stand up for yourself". That
often seemed harsh to a sensitive lad. Above all, lying was a cardinal sin.

All this in my nurturing has meant that I cannot stay quiet when the underdogs are being kicked around.

I do believe Edmund Burke';s adage applies - "It is only necessary for good men to stay silent, for evil to triumph".

I qualified as a doctor in 1964. I started repairing folk with broken skeletons and the torn flesh from road accidents. Less often I straightened the crooked limbs of children. Always we worked together to relieve pain and distress. Blowing people apart should be rejected robustly by the so called caring professions. What is happening in Falluja and in Occupied Palestine is evil and beyond the law. I say this as a human, and especially as a doctor and surgeon.