Why is everything Julian Cole writes so predictable? Does he have any point of view that doesn't conform to the middle class, left wing caste to which he so obviously belongs?

You know, the Chablis drinking, Guardian buying, recreational drug using, expletive rendering, Woody Allen, Ben Elton watching, heart on sleeve, look I buy the Big Issue and give my last penny to a beggar, obsessive Tory hating, solidarity with the workers, sickening, Celt worshipping, trendy dressing prig you will see at any NUT, NUJ or social and leisure services committee meeting.

His column of November 12, condemning his fellow Fleet Street colleagues, followed by the usual outpouring of outraged dignity when a question is raised about a sacred cow of the politically correct - in this case the 'outing' of 'gay' Labour Party 'worthies'. The latest after a revelation by a former partner who works as a 'rent boy'. Would his attitude have been different if the gentleman in question had been a member of the Conservative Cabinet?

Questions Mr Cole might like to answer are: If it's 'ok to be gay' why do these men hide their sexual preferences?

Aren't politicians with life styles they try to hide at the mercy of blackmailers?

No decent person wants to play into the hands of the thugs and 'queer bashers' whose presence shames our society, but when a Government makes decisions concerning moral and sexual matters, for example, when considering bringing the age of consent for homosexual males down to 16, shouldn't the public have some idea of the sexual proclivities of those making that decision?

Surely the only answer from anyone not weighed down by modern day didacticism can be yes!

Michael Pritchard,

Eastholme Drive,

York.

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