A view from the foothills : the diaries of Chris Mullin

Chris Mullin has been a Labour MP for twenty years.

In that time he has not been afraid to criticise his party.

But despite his refusal to toe the party line - on issues like 90 days detention and Africa, for example - he has held several prominent posts.

To the apoplexy of the whips, he was for a time the only person appointed to government who voted against the Iraq War.

He also chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee, giving him direct access to the court of Tony Blair.

Mullin is irreverent, wry and candid. His keen sense of the ridiculous allows him to give a far clearer insight into the workings of Government than other, more overtly successful and self-important politicians.

He offers humorous and incisive takes on all aspects of political life: from the build-up to Iraq, to the scandalous sums of tax-payers' money spent on ministerial cars he didn't want to use.

His diary is a joy to read: brilliantly-observed, it will entertain and amuse far beyond the political classes.