So, we reach the end of the road! Well, just a junction... This week's NS is the last in its current format, but I hope you agree we go out in style.

We have a special issue on Syria - everything you need to know about a secretive state that plays a pivotal role in the Middle East. From politics, to security, to warfare, to lingerie, we shed new light on the country. But we also have two scoops. The chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, reveals to Mary Riddell how she started to warn Home Secretaries about the prisoner deportation crisis from as early as 2003, but was ignored. She also predicts a crisis in our prisons very soon. We also carry an abridged version of my session with David Hare at the Hay festival, where he reveals his suspicions about why 'Stuff Happens' was taken off from the National Theatre even though it was playing to a sell-out audience.

Next week, we have an all-new New Statesman (the print version), with a new cover, new designs, new features, a new culture section and some famous new columnists to complement our brilliant existing team. We will devote more space to the environment, to human rights and development issues, in keeping with our tradition of radical politics. I hope you'll enjoy it.

John Kampfner

EDITOR

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