12 JUNE 1964, Page 15

LORD ATTLEE ON J. H. THOMAS

SIR,—Since it is of course true, as Sir Cyril Osborne says, that Mr. Thomas and Mr. MacDonald were not responsible for their illegitimacy (and I presume he would hold the same view about Mr. Keir Hardie, though he does not expressly state it in his case), how can Lord Attlee have 'besmirched' them by mention- ing it? Is it not to be supposed that he, like most reasonable people in 1964, had forgotten that there were still• people who, like Sir Cyril Osborne, con- sidered that illegitimate birth could conceivably 'besmirch' anyone—unless it be the parents of the 18 Sandwell Mansions, West End Lane. NW6