“The 74-year-old, who has leukaemia and emphysema, has written of having ‘lungs of dust’ in his most recent work, Sentenced To Life.” He told BBC Radio 4, “But the trick is not to overdo it. As my friend PJ O’Rourke told me, ‘you’re going to have to soft pedal this death door stuff, Clive, because people are going to get impatient.’”