Footnote

A quick postscript to Monday’s post concerning the former Labour MP Doug Naysmith who died recently and whose obituary appeared in the Telegraph last weekend.

I was a little bemused by the paper's headline because it implied that Naysmith's most noteworthy achievement was campaigning to have smoking banned in public places.

Perhaps it was but, as I explained:

Having campaigned against bans on smoking in public places for most of the period Naysmith was an MP (1997-2010), I can honestly say I don’t remember him at all.

Today, and somewhat belatedly, ASH has finally included the Telegraph obituary in its Daily News bulletin, adding this strange and barely intelligible 'Editorial note'. I reproduce it exactly as it appears:

Doug Naysmith was an active member of the Health Select Committee in a first for a Select Committee tabled all-party amendments removing the exemptions to the smoking ban in the Health Bill 2005 for licensed premises and private members clubs. The amendments were passed on a free vote by a majority of 200, paving the way for implementation of comprehensive smokefree laws in England in 2007

Is it just me or did an AI chatbot write that?

Either way, I'm still not convinced that the former MP for Bristol North West will be remembered as a leading campaigner for a pubic smoking ban.

A footnote, perhaps ...