Gobby Celebs
By Graham Davies

Bianca Jagger, Alexei Sayle and Annie Lennox have been telling the world that they disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

I can't see this cabaret line-up inhibiting Israel's generals. A model, a comedian and a pop singer? It’s hardly an expert panel of middle eastern political analysts. They should really stick to what they do best: strutting, joking and singing.

Better to leave political commentary to the professionals. Because just occasionally, professional politicians say something which shows just how professional they are. For instance, Ken Livingstone did not say that Israel was wrong to respond to Hamas rocket attacks. But he did venture to point out that what Israel regards as a reasonable kill ratio (100:1) is not. Reasonable. Which is a slightly more nuanced response than Bianca's, Alexei's and Annie's.

Unsurprising really: nuance ("subtle shades of meaning, feeling and tone") doesn't feature too highly in the lexicon of celebrity concerns.