The former secretary of Northern Ireland thinks that we should negotiate with bin Laden.

In a television interview which will be broadcast on Easter Sunday, she described the current hardline approach to the war on terror as “completely counter-productive”.

Ms Mowlam told Tyne Tees TV’s Sunday Interview that Britain and America must open a dialogue with their enemies.

Interviewer Tony Cartledge asked if she could imagine “al Qaida and Osama bin Laden arriving at the negotiating table”.

She replied: “You have to do that. If you do not you condemn large parts of the world to war forever.

“Some people couldn’t conceive of Gerry Adams or Martin McGuinness getting to the table but they did.”

She added: “If you go in with guns and bombs, you act as a recruitment officer for the terrorists.”

I was amused by this aside at the end of the column:

She also confirmed on the programme that she has completely recovered from a brain tumour.

I’d say that we have some evidence to the contrary here.