Letter: Tories and race

Sir: I share Lord Tebbit's admiration for our nation's culture, from its deep classical roots in the philosophies of Plato and Socrates, through the Elizabethan flowering of such writers as Marlowe and Shakespeare, right up to our own century - the music of Britten and Tippett, the poetry of Auden, the original military genius of T E Lawrence, the economics of Keynes, the painting of Hockney, the drama of Coward and Rattigan, the wit of Fry, the acting of Gielgud and McKellen. No wonder the leader of the opposition sent a message to gay ...

Er, start again. British traditions must be defended. In seeking reform of institutions such as the House of Lords, let us reaffirm the time-tested principle of heredity and abolish new-fangled devices such as slack-mouthed life peers.

MICHAEL MASON

London SW7