About this episode

The episode features tributes to Lord Roy Hattersley and explores the lives of various influential figures including journalists and educators.

Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute. Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband was killed by an IRA bomb. He had inspired her to become a speech therapist and after his death she set up one of the first specialist schools for dyslexia and other special educational needs. She named it Fairley House, after her husband. Her daughter Diana Hamilton-Fairley shares her memories. Roger Cook was the intrepid investigative journalist who pioneered the technique known as “doorstepping” - challenging those he suspected of wrongdoing face to face with the camera or tape recorder running. First on Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme Checkpoint and then on ITV’s The Cook Report he took on criminals and fraudsters on behalf of listeners and viewers. Matthew talks to his colleague Tim Tate. Sterling Betancourt was a pioneer of steel pan music from Trinidad and Tobago. He was one…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Bannister

Guests: Lord Kinnock, Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, Diana Hamilton-Fairley, Tim Tate, Beatrice Elokbi

Topics covered

• Labour party
• socialist politics
• journalism
• dyslexia education
• steel pan music
• personal tributes

Keywords

• Labour party
• Lord Hattersley
• Daphne Hamilton-Fairley
• Roger Cook
• Sterling Betancourt
• Notting Hill Carnival
• dyslexia
• journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour party, BBC Radio 4

Books & works: A Yorkshire Boyhood

Places: Sheffield, Trinidad and Tobago, Notting Hill

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