I was sad to read today that Nick Ross has left Crimewatch after 23 years. It appears that the programme’s producers were considering “moving the show forward” but without consulting the programme’s host and public face of Crimewatch.

This seems an insane decision, and I say this after watching Nick moderate a conference for Natural England at Lords on Monday. This was an event we managed and it was being held to try and identify key actions to advance the link between health and the natural environment.

As you can imagine we see hundereds of conference moderators/ chair persons every year, but this was the first time I’d worked with Nick. I was astonished at the level of knowledge that he had in the health field, and this wasn’t just research, but obviously years of reading and general interest.

People with this level of professionalism, integrity and knowledge must be hard to find these days, so the Beeb’s loss can only be the Conference Industry’s gain.

Incidentally, the event was a huge success and regarding my previous posts, Lords is a terrific venue with a very strong environmental policy, so great for those looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their event http://www.lords.org/lords-ground/meetings-events/

Finally, I’m really pleased to say we’ll be working with Nick Ross again at the POP conference in Birmingham in September. http://www.ukpopconference.co.uk/2007_conferenceprogramme.asp