AS chairman of the Fulford and District Branch of the Royal British Legion I must protest at the decision not to allow our York branch to hold its Annual Festival of Remembrance in the Barbican this year ('War veterans are snookered', June 1). This raises two points:

The bumbling gross inefficiency of our city council has, once again, let us down.

The council, for monetary gain, are prepared to allow professional snooker to take precedence over the RBL.

One wonders if our forces had shown the same disregard for efficiency and had decided to stay at home to play, or watch, snooker in June 1944 where would we be now?

The whole situation is disgraceful.

Major J H Jessop,

Dalby Mead, York.

Updated: 10:06 Saturday, June 05, 2004