A good man and highly-respected member of the Weymouth community was cremated today. Former police Chief Inspector, Andy Prowse, was a friend, too. By chance, the Echo published a very nice article about him today, which brought his wife, Pam, and their family great comfort. As the article said, Andy was involved in many good causes, giving of his time selflessly and without seeking any reward. Andy was also a member of our Association and, as such, he walked many miles with me during the past four elections. I was amazed by how many people knew him and he them. He was a devoted family man and a rock for them all. His sudden and unexpected death has devastated the family, as you'd expect, but they have been comforted by the deluge of cards and good wishes. Today, as I said, Andy was cremated and due to this wretched virus we were restricted to lining the route. I joined many others near the entrance to the crematorium as we paid our last respects. The hearse crept past and that was it, over as fast as it had begun. Many will miss this gentle and dignified man, who I was most fortunate and honoured to call a friend. In other news, Sunseeker is consulting over more than 450 job losses due to the pandemic. There's a change at the top, too, with both the chief financial officer and chief operations officer going. These job losses are extremely serious and I wrote to CEO Andrea Frabetti some time ago and still await a response. I can only hope that work picks up quickly when this pandemic is past. On better news, the Sandbanks ferry started working again today. And while the service was suspended during the shut-down, the company has managed to service it, so the ferry will not be off-line during the normal maintenance period in November. At 1400, it was time for our weekly Defence Select Committee meeting. We began in private, and then at 1430 began to take oral evidence from Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who represents Ohio’s 10th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2003. Prior to entering the House, the Congressman served as Mayor of Dayton from 1994 to 2002. Congressman Turner served as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 2014 to 2016. This followed his appointment as Chairman of the US Delegation from 2011 to 2014. He now serves as Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In Congress, Turner serves as a subcommittee Chairman on the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman Turner currently serves as the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, where he has jurisdiction over the nation's nuclear arsenal, the Department of Defense's intelligence programs, and also over missile defense systems. Turner formerly served as the Chairman of the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. He was educated at Ohio Northern University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Dayton. Before entering politics, he worked as a lawyer with local firms and businesses in the Dayton area. An impressive CV, I'm sure you'd agree. We asked him for his view on a range of topics, including the state of the "special relationship" and the consequences of the UK allowing Huawei to install 5G. We also touched on China's growing influence around the world. Then our second guest arrived on screen, with an equally impressive CV. Franklin C. Miller is a Principal of The Scowcroft Group where he provides clients with both strategic and tactical advice on defense, national security, foreign affairs, and intelligence policy. Mr. Miller served for thirty-one years in the U.S. government, including twenty-two years in the Department of Defense – serving under seven Secretaries in a series of progressively senior positions – and four years as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council staff. During his career, he worked on the evolution of national deterrence and nuclear targeting policy, on the START 1 and START 2 treaties, and was instrumental in forging new relationships with the British Ministry of Defence. He was deeply involved in improving U.S. capabilities to counter, defend against, and defeat, biological and chemical weapons, in building the basis for U.S. and NATO strategic and tactical missile defense programs, in national reconnaissance and space policy and in submarine operations policy. He also served as the chair of NATO's nuclear policy committee ("the High Level Group") from September 1996 to January 2001 and of NATO's counter-proliferation policy committee ("the Defense Group on Proliferation") from September 1996 to December 1997. Following his retirement from government in 2005, Mr. Miller joined The Cohen Group for five years, first as a Vice President and later as a Senior Counselor. He joined the Scowcroft Group in 2010. In 2006 he was awarded an honorary knighthood – a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) – by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contributions to U.S.-U.K. relations. Mr. Miller received his BA from Williams College in 1972. He received an MPA from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School in 1977. A similar line of questioning was adopted for this guest and his answers were as interesting as the Congressman's. All can be viewed on Hansard. I am finding my time with the DSC absolutely fascinating. We are delving into areas that are very significant to our nation's future and of course there is much to learn.