“BEWARE the quiet man” once whispered Iain Duncan Smith during his speech as ill-fated Tory leader.

As we learn of escalating recipients of basic groceries from food banks, the Centre for Social Justices’ managing director, Christian Guy, pops up on television to play down this growing dependency.

Mr Smith should not be so quiet about having founded the Centre for Social Justice, or that Christian Guy once wrote his speeches.

How can we take seriously the opinion of Messrs Guy and Smith regarding food banks when one founded the Centre for Social Justice and the other was employed by him?

Alarmingly, Conservative candidate and lobbyist Philippa Stroud, who formulates Tory social policy, is also co-founder and paid by this organisation.

Additionally, private contractors of the Welfare to Work programme (financed by the taxpayer) fund the Centre for Social Justice.

Iain Duncan Smith’s flagship Work Programme has already cost us more than £1 billion with paltry results. These contractors are complaining they are under-funded to cope with the amount of unemployed.

How strange then they can afford to fund Mr Smith’s creation when their taxpayer-sourced funding could instead be contributed to those in need of food banks.

Tom Scaife, Manor Drive, York.