Reference the furious outburst (Evening Press, January 6) from York's MP on criticism of taking his children on holiday in term time.

People don't mind when he takes his children on holiday, it's when the Minister of Education for the government of which he is a member, threatens parents who do with reprisals that people object strongly to his nauseating comments.

This reaction is typical of this arrogant government. An Old Labour minister in Harold Wilson's government, the late Douglas Jay, said: "That the man in Whitehall knows best"... New Labour's version is "Don't do as I do, do as I say."

Hugh Bayley is a minister in the government's social security team. He should get his finger out and see that those elderly, sick and infirm people, who are owed up to £1 billion by his department in pensions and other benefits due to the failure of his government to repair the National Insurance computer get their money.

Jeff Henderson,

Moor Lane,

Haxby.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.