| Good evening, If you were around in the 70s and 80s, particularly during the height of the Apartheid years, you'll remember the insistence that Sport and Politics should be kept apart. This was mainly so that major sporting organisations could continue to make plenty of cash from dubious sponsorship in countries running unacceptable regimes. It has been interesting to see, therefore, how some sporting giants have moved relatively quickly to isolate Russia during the war against Ukraine. Most major confederations have banned Russians from competing, hitting them in their pockets as well as turning them into sporting as well as political pariahs. Few of us will be naïve enough to think that this is for purely altruistic reasons, but at least they have read the room. So the International Paralympic Committee's initial decision to admit Russian athletes to the Paralympics as neutrals was at the very best ill-judged. Following a huge backlash and a threat of a boycott from other countries, the committee has changed its mind. Quite right too. We have to shun Russia and her allies in every way to make it impossible for the country to continue with the current leadership. And everyone needs to play their part across the rest of the democratic world. Until next time, take care, Gillian | 
