by Janaki Mahadevan

Wearing his trademark white suit, celebrated foreign news correspondent Martin Bell addressed the Golders Green and Hendon branch of the Untied Nations Association in Trinity church, Golders Green, on Monday evening.

Unperturbed by the initial technical hitch with the microphone, he took the stand to give his unscripted talk on the United Nations and Unicef and their roles in the world today.

During his speech he discussed the ways in which Unicef and the UN are helping countries ravaged by conflict, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur and Iraq.

Asked if he would travel to Iraq, Mr Bell, who made his name reporting in conditions and countries other reporters would shy away from, said: "I would, but I would be so careful I don't think my reporting would be worth very much. I don't think anybody's is worth very much because they never venture more than 15 minutes outside a fortified compound. You can't cover a war like that."

Mr Bell was one of the most distinguished BBC foreign affairs correspondents of his generation. After travelling to over 80 countries and reporting on conflicts in the Middle East, Rwanda and Northern Ireland among many others, he took the surprise decision to leave the BBC and enter the political arena.

Mr Bell won an election in 1997 on an anti-sleaze ticket against MP Neil Hamilton, and is very clear about the need for honesty and integrity in politics. He said: "If politicians were honest then if they made a mistake they would say so and they are unwilling to do so.

"A chasm has opened up between the politicians and the people which is dangerous for the health of our democracy."

Since leaving the world of journalism and politics, Mr Bell has become an ambassador for Unicef and in this capacity has travelled to many countries which are suffering from the effects of wars and natural disasters.

He said: "What we can't do is to sit back and say that this is none of our business and if we leave the world alone it will leave us alone because it won't. This is where the United Nations comes in.

"The UN agencies are indispensable when it comes to resolving differences between communities and nations, it cannot be done in any other way.

"There has to be the political will for us to live in peace."