Alex Salmond Leader of Scottish National Party. An opponent of the Iraq War. In 1998 won the Spectator Award for Political strategist of the Year.

Ziauddin Sardar Writer, cultural commentator, broadcaster. Areas of expertise range from Islam to the politics of science. Has written over 40 books, including the international bestseller Why Do People Hate America? Editor of Futures and co-editor of Third Text.

Miranda Sawyer Award-winning writer and broadcaster. A feature writer for the Observer, Esquire's motoring correspondent and a contributing editor for The Face.

Brian Sewell Influential English art critic who writes for the Evening Standard. Noted for his conservatism and acerbic reviews of the Turner Prize. Has won many press awards, including Critic of the Year 1988, Arts Journalist of the Year 1994 and the Foreign Press Award (Arts) 2000.

Nicholas Soames Tory MP for Mid Sussex and former Armed Forces minister.

Clare Short Labour MP since 1983. Has been Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Transport Secretary, and Secretary of State for International Development. A leading campaigner against pornography.

Lionel Shriver Award winning author and journalist. In 2005, won the Orange Prize for Fiction for We Need to Talk About Kevin. Currently writes a column for the Guardian.

Will Smith Jersey-born writer and comedian. First rose to prominence as the Posh Boy on Channel 4's 11 O'Clock Show. Other credits include Time Gentleman Please, Happiness, The Stand Up Show and Monkey Dust.

Dan Snow Presenter and historian. Won a first-class degree in history at Balliol College, Oxford, where he developed a passion for military history. Together with his father Peter Snow he presented Battlefield Britain and more recently Whose Britain is it Anyway?

David Starkey One of the UK's best-known historians, famous for his series The Six Wives of Henry VIII and most recently Monarchy. Embarked on his broadcasting career while teaching history at the LSE. Has since earned the title "the rudest man in Britain" from the Daily Mail.

Mark Stephens Media lawyer specialising in defamation and intellectual property. Appointed by the Lord Chancellor to be a Champion for the Community Legal Service. Contributes to the Radio 4 Quiz show Points of Law.

Dom Antony Sutch A Benedictine monk who lives in a monastery in Suffolk. Former headmaster of Downside, a leading independent Catholic boys’ school. A regular on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day.