Richard Branson: You ask the questions

(Such as: why can't you get your trains to run on time? And, if cannabis is legalised in the UK, would you consider selling it?)

Born in 1950, Richard Branson was educated at Stowe School. In 1970, he founded Virgin as a mail-order record company and went on to build a recording studio where Virgin's first artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded Tubular Bells. The Virgin brand has since expanded into trains, aeroplanes, the internet, publishing, mobile phones, gyms, hotels and cinemas. A keen record-breaker, Branson manned the first hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic and unsuccessfully attempted to fly one around the world. In December 1999, he was awarded a knighthood. He lives in London and Oxfordshire, and is married with two children.

What still motivates you? Are there any remaining major ambitions? (PS Please say, fix the railways.)
Derek Smith, Newcastle upon Tyne

That's a good question, even though I'm on holiday at the moment and enjoying the sun, I don't seem to have a burning desire to retire. I think because I started Virgin when I was a teenager, it has become a part of me, like my family, and I am motivated by ambition for it, almost as if it were a child. I'm still motivated by the idea of building the business and creating things. Not least, the best airlines on the planet and a world-beating railway franchise in Britain. Both are totally dependent on the best people and technology working together, and I think, in the case of the railways, with the new trains coming into service, this will make the next year a really special one.

If cannabis is legalised, would you consider selling it?
Mike Godliman, Twickenham

I do believe cannabis should be decriminalised, as it is ridiculous that an average of 90,000 young people a year have either ended up with a criminal record or been imprisoned, over an entire generation, for smoking a weed that may even have health benefits (as long as they leave the tobacco out). As for selling it, I'm less sure. I believe it's a product that should not be too commercialised. It's better suited to being marketed by small, café-style specialists.

You like to take a risk. How close did you come to abject failure?
Clara Small, Eastbourne

If you don't take risks in life, then you never achieve anything. I believe in taking risks but also "protecting the downside". This means working out all the things that could go wrong and then making sure you have all those eventualities covered. I have come close to failure many times. I nearly failed when Virgin was in its infancy, I nearly failed in the early 1980s, and, of course, I have nearly died more than once trying to achieve a world record for boating or ballooning. But through a combination of luck and planning, both Virgin and I are still here.

What do you think are the reasons behind the Government changing its mind about your Lottery bid?
Jamie Dormon, Essex

It was not really a Government decision, but one taken by an organisation called the Lotteries Commission. Nonetheless, it is still a mystery to me as to why Camelot was successful in its re-bid. It made promises of raising £15bn for good causes, which it admitted, within a month of getting the licence, it would never meet. It also admits that it has lost the confidence of the public, who are cynical about a lottery run more for greed than good causes. Therefore, I think civil servants chose Camelot again because of fear of change and the real risk that Camelot could have refused to continue to promote the Lottery during the handover period. In other words, the Government did not write a very good contract with them in the first place.

Are you a member of the mile-high club?
Elton Roebuck, Southport

The funniest letter of complaint I ever had was from a Virgin Atlantic passenger who complained that the sinks in the toilets of the new Airbus A340 were too small to fit his wife's bottom into when they were having sex on board. It included a drawing of a more comfortable sink for future use.

As to whether I have ever joined the club. Well... certainly not since Virgin Atlantic started flying 18 years ago, but, having said that, we are not the sort of airline that bangs on the door if a couple have been in there for a few minutes.

In what ways are you like a virgin?
Phillip Chase, Birmingham

I always like trying things out for the first time. I love a new challenge.

Why did I have to wait for an hour at Wigan station for one of your trains on Saturday? When will they start working properly?
Charlie Reeves, by e-mail

Virgin Rail will carry nearly 40 million passengers next year, so we can't get every service right, but it is getting better. I suspect you were delayed at Wigan due to problems with the overhead line, which is being replaced at the moment by Railtrack as part of the upgrade of the railway. We are putting into service more than £1bn of new trains this year and early next year, and the track to let them run at 125mph should be finished within 18 months. That will make all the difference.

If you were the head of the Royal Mail, what would you do to turn the business around?
Jan Cunnington, Watford

That would be a challenge. The Royal Mail is actually a great business with a great history and great people working for it. It did the kind of things in the late 1990s that make my blood boil, like spending a fortune on changing its name to Consignia from the Post Office. I remember talking to colleagues at the time and not being able to understand why it would not use the name Royal Mail. It's a bit like BA and the tail fins, when consultants were allowed to run riot. We have not changed the Virgin logo significantly since 1978, and we do not have any plans to do so now. To turn the Royal Mail's business around now will need a big investment in technology and a change in attitude at all levels in the organisation. But I think with the kind of willpower that has been more of a hallmark of forward thinking unions, it could be a great private/public sector business of the future.

Which of the bands you signed are you most proud of?
Leslie Partridge, London

The signing of the Sex Pistols was a turning point for Virgin. It put the company on the map, and over the years attracted bands such as Genesis, the Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz and Janet Jackson. It also attracted Culture Club, who were ground-breaking. I'm also very proud of the fact that Boy George has managed to make such a success of his life, given the terrible addiction he had during the mid 1980s. I'm currently proud of two bands. LibertyX overcame being rejected on a TV programme to come up with a great album. The Stereophonics just get it right album after album.

Do you always get what you want? Has anything eluded you?
Ricky Jones, Winchester

I tend to agree with Mick Jagger's immortal words: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need". I certainly feel I have everything I need. The idea of things eluding me would mean having regrets, but my mum and dad always brought me up not to have any regrets and move on to the next thing. So that's what I tend to do, and I never regret "the one that got away". (Except, perhaps, what's happened to the Lottery, which could have been so much better.)

Richard Branson's autobiography, 'Losing My Virginity', is published by Virgin Books, £9.99