14 JANUARY 1995, Page 23

Another horse-whipping

Sir: Alan Clark's review of Ginny Dougary's book The Executive Tart, in your issue of 24 September, has recently been shown to me. Last June — I believe with some justification — I promised Mr Clark a metaphorical horse-whipping, which he quickly said he deserved. I must first declare that interest.

Since Alan Clark was a minister in Mr Major's sleaze-ridden Government, I was at first confused by his heading 'Intercourse at Saltwood' in thinking that The Executive Tart might refer to himself. I now under- stand that Ginny Dougary's book is on an altogether higher plane, and deals with the success or otherwise of executive women rather than the immorality of male Tory politicians. Not that one is much wiser about this at the end of the 'review', since 75 per cent of it (1,200 words out of 1,560) deals with the ex-procurement minister's pervertedly mucky Diaries.

Mr and Mrs Clark have a well-known propensity to denigrate women — he for their (in his eyes) lack of physical attributes, and she (in her mind) for their lack of class or origin. In this piece howev- er, once he has vilified the observant Ms Dougary, even the naked forms of Messrs Hattersley and Mellors (sic) are paraded before the reader to be scorned; shades perhaps of his Diaries — . . I can't even urinate if someone else comes into the gents, which is . . such a bad sign . . . it could get you a discharge from the army as being a moral danger to your brothers-in-arms . . . but I don't in the least mind letting girls see my penis.'

Are so many of his colleagues wrong or unfair about Clark?

Couldn't Ginny Dougary, Nick Wap- shott, A.N. Wilson, Alan Watkins and Michael Dobbs all be in full possession of their marbles, whilst we-all-know-who has lost his?

I can remind Mr Clark — since he pre- tends to forget — what Michael Dobbs wrote about his Diaries: . . hugely readable . . . but absolutely scurrilous and have done huge damage to one or two innocent victims.' I concur.

James Harkess

4 Thatcher Road, Constantia 7800, Republic of South Africa