A stab had clearly once been made at de-uglifying these public spaces by painting a corridor a jaunty yellow. This was because, it turned out, babies come here to have their brains tested and someone thought the yellow might calm them. But I couldn’t see how. Such was the oppressive ugliness of this building it would have been like sticking a red nose on a cadaver and calling it Ronald McDonald.

With Straughan he also co-wrote the screenplay for Frank a feature film very loosely based on the Sidebottom story. He interviews people in facilities for the criminally insane as well as potential psychopaths in corporate boardrooms. He is married to Elaine Patterson.

Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a British journalist documentary filmmaker radio presenter and nonfiction author whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. He has made several documentary films for television and two documentary series for Channel 4. He has been described as a gonzo journalist with his work appearing in British publications such as The Guardian newspaper City Life and Time Out magazine.