Martin Bell

Born in Redisham Suffolk in 1938, Martin Bell joined the BBC in Norwich in 1962 and became a general reporter with BBC news in London in 1964. Fourteen years later, he became Chief Washington Correspondent, which included him being wounded by mortar fire in Bosnia in 1992.

In April 1997 he stood as an Independent against Neil Hamilton the Conservative MP for Tatton and won with a majority of 11,000 votes - the first elected Independent MP for nearly 50 years. On leaving the House of Commons in 2001, Martin was appointed by UNICEF UK as Goodwill Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies.

An author of 6 six books, Martin is holding an evening about his life and his viewpoint from the frontline as a war reporter.