"Twenty years in aviation breeds a habit of thinking about what happens if things go badly wrong. Forty years in politics, including eight as a Minister - responsible at times for safety at sea and in the air - not to mention some personal experience of terrorism ingrained that habit.
Spider International is a company which exists to help answer that "what if it goes wrong" question, not least for the most vulnerable people, the very young, the very old and the disabled. There has been a lot of action in recent years to help disabled people get into buildings, but not much on how they get out "if it all goes wrong" as it did at the hotels in Mumbai.
Being trapped in a burning building is the stuff of nightmares. Spider is a way out of the nightmare. That is why I am backing the company."
