WHEN Wirral and the rest of the country woke up on Monday morning we heard the devastating news about the death of brave Constable David Phillips in Wallasey.

When I saw the photos of the 34-year-old dad and his family, my heart sank.

I was moved by the footage of PC Phillips' colleagues laying flowers at the murder scene.

But what touched me most were the emotional comments from Merseyside Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy.

In my role as reporter across the UK I have attended many press conferences like this one but never heard or seen such a heartfelt plea.

It showed why this tough yet sensitive woman is right for this demanding job.

She spoke quietly yet powerfully about this "dark day" when when we "lost one of our own". Her eyes – red from crying – spoke volumes.

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I STUDIED public speaking at Ruskin College in Oxford.

My tutor there in the mid-80s was a former member of a Harold Wilson cabinet and he taught me the skills of oratory.

To this day I am hooked on speeches. I love watching party conferences for that reason.

The same techniques I was taught back then are still in existence. The body language, the considered pauses, the seemingly off-the-cuff yet pre-scripted jokes remain.

Now, in 2015, some speeches are aided by slick promo films and these days key figures tend to speak for less than an hour.

Our attention spans have eroded due to social media.

George "Hard Hat" Osbourne's speech was only 30 minutes.

Speeches can make or break a politician – that is why the Old Etonians like Boris Johnson and David Cameron spent so much time at the Oxford Union Debating Society polishing their rhetoric.

This year critics said leader-in-waiting George’s delivery had everything except love, whereas Jeremy Corbyn’s speech was praised for being full of human kindness.

Maybe next year the speeches will be down to 15 minutes with politicians advising us to see the full version on YouTube, complete with selfies. One thing is certain – they will never leave us speechless.

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TALKING of great speakers who were never lost for words, I was saddened to hear of the death of Labour stalwart Denis Healey.

I met him when he presented an "evening with" event at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Sitting in an armchair like a funny uncle, he guided us through his life with a selection of personal slides that he had taken himself, being a keen photographer.

At a Q &A session I asked him, for the record, if he ever really said that famous catchphrase attributed to him.

He raised his eyebrows and said: “Don’t be a Silly Billy.”

Another politician is taking to the memoirs stage.

The former Business secretary – the Right Hon Vince Cable – was once described as having a voice "like a sheep with tummy ache".

VC will be bleating at the Atkinson Theatre in Southport next month presenting After the Storm – a lucid look at five years in the Coalition.

It will feature tales of intrigue, deception and skulduggery where nothing goes as planned.

Sounds like a promo for the James Bond film Spectre.

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RELATIVELY speaking, Mrs Butler's eldest’s wife is now a stepmother!

Lesley Butler, the other half of BBC Merseyside's Billy Butler is celebrating 25 years in pantos (oh, yes she is!).

She will be hitting the "boos" this Christmas at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre when she plays the wicked stepmother.

Wirral-based Lesley told the Inferno her favourite panto was in New Brighton when co-stars Stan Boardman and Micky Finn were like school kids let loose.

“They would let off stink-bombs and put drawing pins on the seats. The phrase ‘look behind you’ was very real."

I asked her what she wants for Christmas: “A real life pony”came the answer. Hope you’re reading this column Billy.

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AND finally ... The BBC should lock their crockery cupboard if Daniel O’Donnell is voted off Strictly. I once asked the unflappable Irish singer if he’d ever lost his temper.

"Oh yes," he sighed, "I once smashed a cup and saucer in anger.’" 

Peter Grant