What with this talk of David Cameron pushing for a minimum price on booze, I looked up a recent Parliamentary debate on the issue. In fact it was on December 14, just a couple of weeks since the story broke in The Telegraph.

Treasury Minister Chloe Smith was responding to a Westminster Hall debate secured by Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, who was been campaigning on a minimum price for booze.

Here is what the minister had to say: "First, as my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes explained, the Scottish Government have recently introduced a Bill that seeks to bring in a 45p per unit minimum price.

"She asked why this Government believe that that would be incompatible with EU law, when the Scottish Government do not. If I may quote the specific point: we believe that it could be incompatible with article 34 of the treaty of the functioning of the European Union.

"I should be delighted to go into more detail on that if she required. That is the position."

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It was a much longer and harder day than we expected, we started from camp two so as to minimise the time we'd spend under the dangerous ice cliffs above camp three, however, most other groups are using camp three making a shorter summit day. I managed about 30 mins sleep due to the uncomfortable floor and nerves. We awoke at 1am and melted enough snow for a cup of tea and were ready to leave at 2am.

Just after 10am Nepali time, we reached the summit of Ama Dablam 6,814m. It took about 8 hours and was very cold around dawn with a cutting wind. We've been blessed with fantastic views all around, Everest is clearer visible behind me in the photo. I'll post more once I down safely.

This is our summit eve, the despatch is coming from camp two at 6,000m on Ama Dablam. Today we climbed from camp one and we're now in a position to make an attempt on the summit tomorrow, assuming the weather doesn't change significantly overnight, there is currently a light breeze and the temperature just below freezing, although it will drop further when the sun sets.

Having acclimatised over the last 3 weeks, we're now on our summit attempt.

We said our good byes to the base camp team and received their well wishes, then passed by the Buddhist stupa and prayer flags paying our regards and asking for safe passage on the mountain once more, then that was it, we set-off for camp one...

The weather forecast is favourable, so we're off on our summit push, leaving for camp one tomorrow, camp two the day after and then leave for the summit that night. Wish us luck...

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said: "Christopher Hitchens was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious.

"I worked as an intern for him years ago. My job was to fact check his articles. Since he had a photographic memory and an encyclopaedic mind it was the easiest job I've ever done.

"He will be massively missed by everyone who values strong opinions and great writing".

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We've been back down in base camp for two days now which has allowed for some interesting passtimes like secretly eating a whole block of Toblerone in my tent so none of the other expedition members knew, and also doing my washing!

Education Minister Sarah Teather has expressed her frustration at bad spelling and grammar used by officials at her Whitehall department.

Speaking in a Parliamentary debate about dyslexia, the Liberal Democrat minister said: "I have to say that, as an employer, I meet lots of graduates who do not have dyslexia who have not learnt how to use accurate punctuation and spelling.

"Unfortunately, it is a continuous frustration, and I sometimes wonder whether I am the best-paid proofreader in the country, given the amount of time I spend correcting grammar and punctuation in the documents that leave the Department - I probably should not say that in Hansard."

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Today has been the most exciting day of the expedition so far, with exhilarating rock climbing between camp one and camp, the photos are quite spectacular.