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Sir: James Forsyth misunderstands the reasons for our collective indifference to what he describes as ‘Iran’s act of war’. Having been fed misinformation by the Blair government for a decade (particularly in relation to ‘war propaganda’) most of us believe that there is a pretty high probability that our boys were caught fair and square in Iranian waters but that our government will never admit it. How can we be outraged if we cannot even be sure of the basic facts? Too many of us were too credulous in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. We won’t fall into the same trap again.
James Preston
Madrid, Spain
Needy children
Sir: I read Ross Clark’s mean-spirited article about Red Nose Day (‘Read the small print before you donate’, 24 March) with great concern. As the director of the Children’s Legal Centre I would like to make it clear that at no time was any charitable money from BBC Children In Need, or any other charitable source, spent on the House of Lords’ case of Shabina Begum. Shabina’s costs were covered in their entirety by her public-funding certificate, issued by the Legal Services Commission.
All monies received from BBC CIN are spent on providing legal advice and representation to Special Education Needs children and their parents or carers who are seeking appropriate educational support for their children. Legal aid is not given for representation at Special Educational Needs tribunals, but without such representation children and parents find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Ross Clark’s report may well jeopardise charitable funding for this very vulnerable group of children.
Professor Carolyn Hamilton
Director, The Children’s Legal Centre,
Colchester, Essex
Sir: Ross Clark’s article included misleading information about BBC Children In Need. All our funding goes directly to help disadvantaged children and young people. We receive thousands of grant applications each year, and we apply a rigorous assessment process to ensure that the money goes to projects which will work directly with those under 18.
David Ramsden
Chief Executive, BBC Children In Need
Aussie outrage
Sir: Charlotte Moore, reviewing Thomas Keneally’s The Widow and Her Hero (Books, 24 March), questions whether there is ‘a woman alive’ who, like Grace, notices the difference between rail gauges in NSW and Victoria. I can tell her that for years and years every traveller between NSW and Victoria was perfectly aware of the idiocy of the differing rail gauges, brought on by the pigheadedness of each state government. Everyone had to get off one train and on to another. The sound of gnashing teeth, cursing and sighing, etc., was very audible!
Lee Shrubb
Sydney, Australia
Cormac’s slip
Sir: I am glad to hear (Letters, 31 March) that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor is full of ‘admiration’ for the Pope’s recent document on the Eucharist. Some of us wondered if the Cardinal shared the majority of his fellow cardinals’ admiration for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when they elected him Pope. At the press conference held immediately afterwards Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor was asked why they had elected Cardinal Ratzinger, to which the Archbishop of Westminster replied, ‘They wanted him…’ — before hastily correcting his reply to ‘We wanted him…’. Millions heard the slip on television.
Father Ian Ker
Oxford
Total recall
Sir: The review of Bryan Magee’s autobiography Growing Up in a War (Books, 10 March) recounts that while Magee is in the Christ’s Hospital infirmary he is tended by a thirtyish night nurse to whom he loses his virginity. Later in his review Francis King ponders whether Magee has either an extraordinary memory or extraordinary powers of invention. It prompts the following recollection, which supports the first alternative.
I was a contemporary of Magee’s and I, too, was in the infirmary. Magee was opposite me and I was very impressed with the amount of time he spent in close conversation with the night nurse. She would sit by the head of his bed and their voices were low. I carried the memory of all this but thought little of it until now. His biography explains all.
Ben Ashton
Cookham, Berkshire
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