The music stops for Nadhim Zahawi
by Paul Goodman
An eventful day, Thursday February 20: Sayeeda Warsi at the start of it, Alan Johnson at the end of it.
And somewhere in between, that clip of Nadhim Zahawi's tie. Speaking of which, we have a statement from the MP for Stratford-on-Avon -
“I had been asked to wear the tie for a photo and knew I would be speaking in the chamber afterwards so decided to keep it on to help raise awareness. They hadn’t warned me that it was musical and as I buttoned my jacket I must have activated it.”“Although it’s gained a lot of attention for the incident itself, as a side effect I hope that it will help the campaign and raise awareness of our abysmal track record on cancer survival rates in this country.”“Every year some 250,000 people in England are diagnosed with cancer and every year 130,000 people die from the disease. Our cancer survival rates are far below those in Europe, which is why the government has announced a £750m cancer strategy which amongst other things will fund an extra 1,200 additional specialists by 2012 and provide £60m to roll out new Bowel Cancer screening technology. On top of this we also have the £200m a year cancer drugs fund to ensure that people get the drugs they need.”“There has been so much interest in this tie that I have decided that the only correct thing to do is to auction it off, with the proceeds obviously going to Beating Bowel Cancer.”Beating Bowel Cancer is a national charity for bowel cancer patients, working to raise awareness of symptoms, promote early diagnosis and encourage open access to treatment choice for those affected by bowel cancer. Through their work they aim to save lives from this common cancer. For more information visit www.beatingbowelcancer.org."
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