MORE than 300 people attended the annual lent lecture in Marlborough last Wednesday to hear the BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane talk about his work.

Keane was the BBC war correspondent for 25 years and he spoke about some of the atrocities he reported on in Algeria, the Balkans and in Northern Ireland.

He spoke of his anger at a world standing by when, he said, people were being murdered and raped.

"They do it because they know we will not stop them," the reporter said.

He spoke of the inspiring bravery of those who have campaigned against human rights abuses, some of whom are mentioned in his new book, The Essential Gesture.

In presenting the annual lent lecture organised jointly by the Marlborough Brandt Group and Christian Aid he was following in the footsteps of worthies including Princess Anne; former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and his own media colleague George Allagiah.