You may or may not know that I'm a strong supporter of the Make Poverty History campaign Even before there was an official name for it, I was part of it.  I'm now going to abuse my journal for a second and ask that all of you take a second and think about the crippling poverty millions of people across the world live in. The gap between the rich and poor has never been wider - people are dying as I type this because they don't have the money to provide their families with food to eat, with safe water to drink, with basic medical supplies. You may think they're not your problem, that they're in another country, that they don't matter. If you do, I'm sorry, but you're wrong.

These people are just that. People. They are human beings and deserve to be thought of as such - they are not just statistics.

In 2001, the G8 pledged to make a difference. It's now four years later and nothing has changed. The next G8 meeting takes place this year in Edinburgh. Already there are campaigns underway to bring the campaign to the forefront of the conference.

What I'm asking today is for those of you in the UK to read this and - if you are so inclined - to add your name to the email and send it to Alan Johnson, the Secretary for Trade and Industry.

You don't even have to open your email account - all you have to do is fill in the blanks and click on send. It'll take you seconds, but it could make all the difference.