Sting is in a reflective mood. The Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter grew up in Wallsend near Newcastle-upon-Tyne and tells me he is "very proud" of his Tyneside roots.
But the musician is less complimentary about the way the North East of England has been, as he puts it, "wilfully neglected by successive governments for decades".
As he announces a significant donation to an arts institution in Gateshead, he also told the BBC: "The statistics for child poverty in the area are discouraging".
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