There was something deeply disturbing about seeing British athlete Denise Lewis running with the Olympic torch through the streets of London surrounded by blue-clad Chinese heavies clearly prepared to brush aside all protest if the British police hadn't already been doing that job for them. So much for the purity of sport.

This show of strength by the combined political establishments of the two countries, with the connivance of the toadies of the sporting world who've been turned into puppets, was designed to intimidate and stifle opposition to allowing a country with an appalling human-rights record to use the Games to win world approval.

They failed though. The protesters made their point, just as they went on to do in Paris and San Francisco. Good for them.

It's wrong that a totalitarian regime should have been granted the opportunity to use this massive sporting jamboree to bolster its bid for respectability.

The tragedy is, though, that given the size and scale of the modern Olympics, only totalitarian regimes can afford to stage them. It doesn't matter if they have to plunge half their population into hardship to do so. Such minor details don't matter to regimes like that.

They should matter, though, to an alleged democracy like Britain's. But did anyone ask you if you wanted London to bid for the 2012 Olympics, at incalculable cost and at a time when we're committed to what might be an endless and very expensive war? No they didn't. London bid for the poisoned chalice because politicians decided it should do so, and London was given it. And I'll bet the rest of the world sniggered up its sleeve.

If we manage to stage them without it turning into a shambles, it'll be remarkable given this country's recent dismal record in organising major projects. If we manage to stage them without undermining public services and bankrupting the nation, it'll be a miracle given the rising costs.

We shouldn't have bid for them. It was a stupid, vain thing to do. They're out of our league. Is there still time to give them back, cut our losses, hand them over to France? If there is, let's swallow our pride and do it.

The big question is, though - would France want them? If it wouldn't, the next question is: should the Olympics be deemed to have run their course?

Shame on you, Brown

Did Gordon Brown realise what he was doing when he abolished the 10p rate of income tax, thereby making poor people even worse off unless they're able to pick their way through the complexities of the tax-credit system?

If he did, what sort of wickedness drove him to do it? And if he didn't, he's hardly competent to run the country, is he?

It's unlikely that he'll reverse the policy. He seems remarkably stubborn, particularly when it comes to measures which undermine the living standards of older people. He adamantly refused to backtrack on the £5 billion-a-year tax raid on pensions funds which has helped to force many of them out of existence. Now this comes as a further blow.

Meanwhile he and his fellow Ministers and MPs continue to enjoy the shameful perks that go under the guise of legitimate expenses for second homes on top of their comfortable salaries, taxpayer-funded pensions and whatever fat-cat jobs they can line up for themselves for when the voters throw them out.

There are plenty of other obscenely-wealthy targets for taxation at the opposite end of the food chain to pensioners and low-paid workers. Seems, though, that the Government has neither the will nor the courage to tackle them.

Links born of quest for unity

It was in 1996 that Peter Berry called into the T&A office and asked if I could help him publicise the Bradford Twin Towns Association, established 35 years ago to encourage links between the people of this city and various European counterparts.

So I did, and I've been in contact with the association just about every year since, covering the annual general meeting and presenting the Telegraph & Argus Twin Towns Trophy to the individual considered to have done the most for twinning over the past year.

This week it was Peter's turn to receive the shiny cup, for many years of sterling work, serving twice as president and for longer than he can remember as secretary, and once in both roles at the same time.

Another stalwart is Glyn Roberts, who told the meeting that the association, which is struggling to attract new members, was only going through the same sort of problems as its European counterparts.

It seems that there's not the enthusiasm there once was for forging friendships with ordinary people from Germany, France or Belgium, having them come to stay with you in your home and in return going to stay in theirs.

Times have moved on. Many younger people don't appreciate the desire to encourage European harmony that prompted the older generation to seek to build post-war bridges.

But it will be sad if twinning slowly fades away. Anything which encourages understanding in this troubled world is important. If anything the practice should be expanded, perhaps beyond Europe.

Meanwhile, I've just covered my last AGM for the association before I retire early next year, and Glyn was kind enough to present me with an engraved photo frame on behalf of members to thank me for the modest amount of support I've given them. They're very welcome. I shall cherish it, and I wish them well.