Letters | 19 January 2008

Too cosy with the KGB
Sir: Denis MacShane (‘Welcome to the Vlad and Dave show’, 12 January) is right to imply that the attitude of the Conservative party to the Russian KGB state is reminiscent of the attitude of the same party to Germany in 1938. Only about a year ago the Russian services brought illegally a forceful radioactive material to this country, and then killed a British citizen. I can’t remember the Conservative party actively protesting against it in the European and other international bodies, particularly in the Nato.

With such foreign policy, that party will never shine on the international arena.

Oleg Gordievsky

London WC1

Sir: Denis MacShane’s insightful revelations of British Conservatives and Russian diplomats cosying up to each other in the Council of Europe stirred nostalgic memories of over half a century ago.

At a Labour party parliamentary dinner for visiting Soviet leaders, Khrushchev and Bulganin in the 1950s, the future foreign minister George Brown wound up Mr K to such a degree that the Communist boss fumed he found it easier to talk with British Conservatives than with Labour leaders. The following day he added for good measure that if the Labour party was the face of British socialism, he’d prefer to be a Tory. The faces and ideologies may change, but it seems that Russo–Conservative affections die hard — albeit nourished by mutual agendas.

Maurice Jones

Rossendale Valley, Lancashire

The problem with choice

Sir: I agree with Charles Moore that the British are simply not healthier and better treated by the NHS than patients in neighbouring countries (The Spectator’s Notes, 12 January) but I wonder whether we all really want a choice of services.

A recent GP referral, instead of offering me an appointment (which I could have changed or cancelled if I so wished) sent me four A4 pages of instructions.