the spectator | 29 february 2020 | http://www.spectator.co.uk 27LETTERS
Good cops, bad cops
Sir: As someone who has had more than
his fair share of cycling-related incidents,
I sympathise with Lionel Shriver over
her two-wheeler run-in with a copper
(‘How I became an easy police target’,
22 February). I hope the following may
encourage her: when a policeman stepped
into my path in Camberwell and, upon my
objecting, told me to ‘shut up’, I found the
complaints procedure to be surprisingly
efficient. I received an apology from his
supervisor within a few weeks, and the
man in question faced disciplinary action.
When someone stole the wheels from
my car in Hertfordshire, the police were,
amazingly, able to catch the thief through
DNA testing of some blood he’d left on
the road. Conclusion? Some police are bad
apples, some sympathetic and helpful —
and sometimes you’re just bloody lucky.
Jon Frank
Greenwich, London SE10Police reader
Sir: I was very sorry to read of Lionel
Shriver’s recent ‘contact’ with the police.
She was clearly treated with both a lack
of respect and basic humanity. I do hope
that she is now recovering from this
unfortunate incident.
Despite her assumption about the
officer involved, perhaps Lionel can be
reassured that there are police officers who
do read The Spectator.
Richard List
Detective Chief Superintendent,
Thames Valley Police, Aylesbury, BucksPenny purchases
Sir: Nigel Kavanagh-Brown gives sound
advice on pence and pennies (Letters, 22
February). After all, the cry was ‘Penny for
the Guy’. However my recollection is that
in the 1960s, two essential accoutrements
each cost a penny: unwrapped gobstoppers
and rolls of percussion caps.
John Spencer-Silver
London SW11Where’s Mr Wordsworth?
Sir: I’ve noticed Dot Wordsworth hasn’t
mentioned her husband lately. I do hope he
is well. Perhaps Dot could let us know?
Billy Nanner
Nottingham
[Dot’s husband returns, p62]WRITE TO US
The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street,
London SW1H 9HP. [email protected]Devolved or decentralised?
Sir: Paul Collier (‘Northern lights’,
22 February) conflates what devolution
has come to mean, in UK terms, with
decentralisation of authority. Thus it
is adrift to imply that Edinburgh has
benefited from a conscious decentralising
of powers from central government.
It was simply that Scotland as a whole
got devolution and Edinburgh is its
capital city, whereby it administers the
devolved responsibilities.
Until such time as commentators and
politicians distinguish properly between
devolution and decentralisation, they will
continue to prompt fears that England
could be balkanised rather than treated as
a national entity on a par with Scotland.
Situate its devolved English parliament and
government in a more northerly latitude
of England, with London becoming UK
federal territory, and that will do more for
the North and elsewhere than granting
crumbs of local power to a few other cities.
Ken Stevens
Sonning Common, OxfordshireSustaining networks
Sir: Douglas Murray believes that the BBC
should be allowed to die if it fails to cater
to his taste in high culture (‘How low can
the BBC go?’, 22 February). How stark the
contrast between this and his friend Roger
Scruton’s wise guidance that we should
instead sustain the networks of familiarity
and trust on which a community depends
for longevity, and that we must sometimes
reform in order to conserve.
Richard Lyon
EdinburghThe BBC is outstanding
Sir: As a faithful Belgian Spectator reader
for years, my defence of the BBC does not
spring from politics. English viewers may
not be aware of it, because they are so
used to the outstanding quality, but I can
assure you that the BBC’s programmes
are probably the best in the world and are
an example for television makers all over
the place. It would be a crying shame to
try to muzzle the BBC, just because the
news gathering and opinion programmes
may seem to be a bit too progressive or
independent for some people’s taste.
The general public, not only in Britain,
adore the BBC’s documentaries, sports
programmes, the well-made drama, the
quizzes and witty panel shows. Please don’t
kill the goose with the golden eggs.
Paul Jacobs
Producer, Belgian radio and television (ret.)Don’t forget Bragg
Sir: Like Douglas Murray, I no longer
listen to BBC Radio 4 in the morning.
I now wait until PM to get my news
from the excellent Evan Davies, whose
forensic intellect is juxtaposed with
sincere good manners, even if he does,
on occasion, lose sight of the objectivity
Lord Reith understood to be the principal
requirement of a journalist.
As for TV culture, I have to thank the
Beeb for my improved mental health,
as the plethora of dancing programmes,
cookery programmes and house
improvement programmes send me to
bed early.
However, there is one person, at least,
whom Douglas Murray overlooks, and
that is Melvyn Bragg, whose In Our Time
programme has me delaying my start
on a Thursday morning. He wastes no
valuable air time at all promoting his own
personality: just a ‘Hello’ and he’s off. He
does not interrupt his well-picked guests,
and he has an uncanny ability to listen like
the audience does.
Dick Durham
Leigh-on-Sea, EssexSubscribe for
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