LETTERS

Spectator, The, Jan 17, 2004

So much for the hope of liberal democracy in Russia.

Oleg Gordievsky

London WC2

Black watch

From Robert Peston

Sir: I was mildly surprised by the complaint of my old friend Stephen Glover that the Sunday Telegraph has not written enough about the travails of Hollinger International, the parent company of the Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator (Media studies, 3 January). As it happens, on 23 November 2003 we published one of the few genuine scoops in this saga, namely that a raft of directors had quit Hollinger Inc. - the Canadian parent of Hollinger International - in protest at the refusal of Lord Black to resign as its chief executive.

Our policy, as I have stated for the benefit of our readers, is to publish relevant news on Hollinger. However, Glover's suggestion that I comment in my column on the propriety of Lord Black's financial stewardship of the Telegraph Group and Hollinger is not wholly compelling. That said, I would be delighted to guide him, if he felt minded to provide this service in his own column.

Robert Peston

City editor,

Sunday Telegraph,

London EC2

Booker's Northern front

From John Laughland

Sir: How interesting that Richard North should now start attacking me, just as the original accusations made by his co-author, Christopher Booker, have been proved wrong (Letters, 10 January). North needs to pretend that I claim that the origins of the EU lie in Nazism in order to have an Aunt Sally to knock down, for his book's uninteresting 'revelation' that the EU was in fact the brainchild of Jean Monnet. But as Richard North knows, I state clearly at the end of the very passage he quotes from my book, The Tainted Source, that 'the point is not to suggest that the European idea was directly inspired by the Nazis or their allies' (p. 80).

John Laughland

London W6

Arms for all

From J.G. Cluff

Sir: It is time for some lateral thinking regarding the sky marshals controversy. Would it not be sensible, instead of attempting the difficult and inconvenient task of ensuring that no one on the planes is armed, rather to make sure that everyone is armed? Install a compartment next to the oxygen masks containing a revolver and six rounds of ammunition for every passenger. In the event of a hijack attempt, the captain releases the revolvers. I am sure even the most demented Muslim fanatic would quail at the prospect of engaging with 400 trigger-happy men, women and children passengers.

J.G. Cluff

London SW1

Speedy complaints

From Paul Smith

Sir: The statements attributed to me by Ross Clark ('Speed cameras are good for you', 10 January) are not a true or fair representation of my position. These statements first appeared in the Times on 16 December 2003 and are the subject of a complaint (PCC ref: 033602).

In particular, no credible or serious death threats had been made against Mary Williams. The comments referred to were later described by the police as follows: 'The comments made did not constitute a threat to kill and no further action will be taken.'