Letters to the Editor | 12 November 2005

Proud without prejudice

I am extremely glad to know that The Spectator watches BBC News 24 (5 November). However, I fear that your leader writer must have momentarily allowed his attention to wander as he watched our coverage of the resignation of Mr David Blunkett. At no time was I ‘dismissive’ about the significance of the event. At no time did I say that the Prime Minister would ‘emerge stronger’ from the resignation. Such a suggestion, as your leader writer asserted with his usual verve, would indeed be preposterous. I merely speculated that Tony Blair might use Mr Blunkett’s departure as an opportunity to have a wider reshuffle. This speculation was based on conversations with several Labour sources who warned that a reshuffle later in the year could be seen as a reaction to the election of a new Conservative leader. I am therefore somewhat miffed to be described as a ‘sympathetic voice’ to the government. This is tosh and just the sort of thing that gets my learned friends excited. I spend more time broadcasting live about politics than any other BBC television correspondent. If I did not strive daily to be fair and impartial, there would soon be a job for me counting paperclips in the BBC’s admin office.
James Landale
Chief political correspondent,
BBC News 24,
London SW1

Why migrants are welcome

The article by Richard Ehrman (‘A dying breed’, 5 November) is unnecessarily alarmist. It is the case, as Mr Ehrman claims, that the citizens of Europe are not replacing themselves at a sufficient rate to avoid economic and social consequences. However, the population boom in Africa and in the Middle East could help Europe avoid the consequences of a population bust. These areas are close enough to Europe to facilitate significant migration of peoples to work in the European economy.