Smash hit

Are the Lib-Dems hypocritical in condemning Labour and the Iraq war whilst at the same time openly participating in a coalition with Labour in a devolved Scotland and why are none of the other parties taking them to task? Frank Guz, Dundee

I personally don't see it that way. Foreign policy is not covered by devolution; there are few occasions when policy over Iraq will have an effect on the ruling coalition's activities in Scotland. There have been many examples in other parliaments when members of coalitions have far more disparate policies than those of Labour and the Lib Dems in Scotland.

Do you wish you were reporting on the campaign? Your replacement at ITN, in an article in The Times, says that he's been hanging out with a half-naked Andrew Marr during his 16-hour days. This surely is making you jealous. Sam Knightly, Faversham

No, I have done my bit, and I am very happy to view it from a distance. Strangely the workout routines of fellow correspondents were never a big factor in my happiness quotient at Westminster. In general I was grateful that at least during the day we kept our clothes on.

Which was the most interesting election you've ever covered and why? Georgina Young, Southampton

The most interesting was the first I covered in detail, as part of the team following the prime minister: the February election of 1974. Ted Heath asked the country whether his government or the unions ran the country; and the electorate insisted on behaving as they always do, weighing up all the issues, not the ones chosen by the politicians. Mr Heath's career never recovered.

John, you were famous for being pushed aside by Margaret Thatcher in Paris, but what was the next most exciting incident in your career? Sarah Conti, Manchester

I suppose I have to say my recent appearance on the Parkinson show for ITV. My fellow guests were Goldie Hawn, the greatest giggle in the world, and John Travolta, who has a handshake to die for. I could not help but be excited by the almost inevitable prospect of failure. But when all hope seemed lost, I was rescued by the studio audience, determinedly backing the home team. My mildest jokes were greeted with such roars of approval that I even began to think I had a right to be there.

Jon Snow, the Channel 4 News presenter, has criticised political interviewers for being too cynical. But Claude Cockburn once said: "Why is the lying bastard lying to me?" Where is the dividing line between cynicism and scepticism? Iain Henderson, Ross-on-Wye

I think the line is drawn when the interviewer believes that the politician is not even trying to get things right. I don't think I have ever felt that in Britain.

What's the worst mistake you've ever made as a broadcaster and what were the consequences? Dave Jones, Eastbourne

My worst mistake is fairly well known: it was when I said that Mrs Thatcher would not be coming out of the embassy in Paris immediately after the result of the Conservative leadership ballot in November, 1990. My earpiece wasn't working and so I did not hear the newsreader, Peter Sissons, shout: "She's behind you." This pantomime scene convinced many of the 13 million viewers that her career as prime minister was over; and she resigned two days later. It may have finished off her career, but it made mine.