I had that Terry Waite in the back of the car once. Unlike the celebrity fares picked up by Private Eye's proverbial taxi-driver, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoy was technically occupying the front passenger seat. But such were the dimensions of legate and vehicle - the one broad yet gangly, the other originally designed by the Germans to give a thousand years of ergonomic motoring - that my companion seemed to be resting the crown of his head against the rear de-mister. I had asked him for an interview, and natural negotiator that he is, he had matched me by requesting a lift to Birmingham New Street. While I drove him to his train, he spoke skittishly of the politicians with whom he had to treat. The sight of the Cannon cinema on the Hagley Road elicited a lively appreciation of the neglected art of the Western. A short time later, when Terry Waite was held hostage in Beirut, journalists found themselves asking what his links were with Oliver North.

LRB 3 December 1992 | PDF Download