I AM sad that Coun Andy D'Agorne still seeks to distort the facts surrounding the unsafe beech trees at Connaught Court and to try to characterise the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI) as devious by using Christmas to "bury bad news" (Letters, November 6)

I feel I have a right to be angry as 30 years ago, I conducted a successful one-man campaign to save a 500-year-old oak tree near Salhouse Broad in Norfolk from soil erosion.

I support the Norfolk Naturalists Trust and on the birth of each of my grandchildren I have bought 20 trees through the Woodland Trust in their names.

This concern for trees and the environment has been mirrored by my choosing to serve as a trustee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for 28 years in its stated objective of caring for older people.

John E Moore,

President,

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution London,

Great Queen Street, London.

Updated: 12:06 Monday, November 22, 2004