16 AUGUST 2003, Page 31

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From G.B. Gilbert

Sir: I enjoyed Rod Liddle's complimentary article (Thought for the day, 2 August) on the Labour spin doctor David Hill, but has something important been left out'? Could Liddle's David Hill be the same fellow immortalised in Alan Clark's diary entry for 15 January 1988?

Clark: 'I get on well with the Labour party. The MPs, that is, not the functionaries who hang about in the corridors, still less those crazy hyped-up "researchers". There's that dreadful little tick with curly hair and glasses, four foot six or thereabouts; I've never seen him smile.'

Footnote: Dave Hill, director of communications, Labour party.

G.B. Gilbert

Gaillac, France