Notebook

14r Callaghan was able, on Monday, to take refuge in a written Commons reply when Officially communicating the news that the Allen inquiry had failed to trace the source of the Wilson honours leak. Too bad that MPs were not given a chance to crossquestion the Prime Minister, because the most scandalous feature of the inquiry was that Sir Philip Allen (now himself ennobled) Was not allowed to interview members of Sir Harold Wilson's private office. In particular, Lady Falkender, though willing enough to give her views at immense length in the correspondence columns of the Times, sheltered behind the ruling that only members of the Civil Service could be forced to give evidence. According to a report that appeared in the Guardian on 2 June, Sir Philip Allen would have liked to interview Lady Falkender and certain other members of Sir Harold's private office, but was refused permission by Sir Harold. Asked if he would confirm that he had not been allowed to interview Lady Falkender, Sir Philip replied : .1 can't comment one way or another. But if you __y Sa that, I shall not write a twocolumn letter to the Times.' In tact, it was Probably a good thing that the leak occurred, but it is not a good thing to Pretend to be holding an inquiry when the conditions under which it is held are calculated to make a Mockery of it. Mr Callaghan should be Pressed further on this matter.

The startling award this week of 04,000 1.113e1 damages to an actor, Mr Telly Savalas, is a great worry not only to the press but to all those concerned with the present laws of defamation. Apart from a case in 1961, Where the judgment was later set aside on appeal, this award was one of the highest ever made in a libel action in England. The record in this field goes to Captain Broome, Who was awarded £40,000 in 1970 in the famous case over the wartime convoy PQ17

this sum included £25,000 punitive

'ainages. It appears from the reports that 1‘.4r Savalas made a most endearing impres!ion in court, both on the jury and on the i,.,ddge, Mr Justice Melford (Truncheons) their sympathy But the jury got carried away by

for `Kojak' when they came °consider damages. If the defendants, the Daily Mail, decide

_"3. appeal against the sum of damages, the rdiculous position is that the Court of Appeal has no power to alter the sum aN

Warded and substitute another figure. It

may Only dismiss the appeal or send the case back for a new trial, with all the extra e_pense involved. Proposals to effect such a `: flange in the court's powers were made as long ago as 1948 and have recently been

reiterated by the Faulks Committee on Defamation. When will the Government implement the excellent proposals of this committee? They would also provide that the judge would assess the sum of damages within a category—substantial, moderate or nominal—decided by the jury. This would have avoided the unreasonable outcome of this week's case.

Scant attention has been paid by the press to the surprising news that Italian immigrants in West Germany are being allowed free use of the German railway system to travel home to vote in next -Sunday's election. The bill will be paid by the Germans. The Italian railways have a legal obligation to carry voters to their constituencies free of charge, but it is odd that West Germany should offer the same service to any of its 640,000 Italian Gastarbeiter who may feel like a trip home for the weekend. Could it be that the German government hopes thereby to bolster the anti-communist vote? A large proportion of Germany's Italian workers come, in fact, from the south of Italy, where communism is traditionally weak, and many others may have become so enthused with the West German free enterprise system that they too may cast their votes on the side of the Christian Democrats.

Not all the writs against Private Eye and its associates from Sir Jimmy Goldsmith have yet reached their mark. Two of the six journalists who had been warned not to write about Goldsmith's solicitor Mr Eric Levine have been out of the country for some of the time since the writs were issued. They are Nigel Dempster, the Daily Mail gossip columnist, who has been in the United States, and Richard West, who has been reporting from Italy for the Spectator.

Soon after Dempster returned from New York, a writ-server appeared one lunchtime at El Vino, the Fleet Street bar. He was recognised by other gossip writers and ordered to leave the premises. One facetious scribbler, pretending to be an enemy of Dempster, suggested to him that he should serve the writ at Boodle's, the dignified St James's club from which, very naturally, he was ejected. It was later arranged that the writ should be served on Dempster at Ascot races.

The writ-server had even less luck with finding the free-lance writer Richard West. Applying to the Daily Telegraph, for whom West writes an occasional column, he was given a home address in Sutton. It turned out that this was, in fact, the residence of another Richard West, the Daily Telegraph's Philately Correspondent.

That, at eighty-three, Chairman Mao no longer feels up to seeing even the most distinguished of foreign visitors is hardly surprising. It seems, however, that some of the politicians who have met him recently (including our own Edward Heath) have been enjoined not to talk about the old man's condition and behaviour during the interview. Even before old age set in, however, the Chairman's behaviour in tete-atete sessions was eccentric. The journalist Edgar Snow—perhaps the only Westerner who could be said to be a personal friend of Mao—used to recall three things about their talks—the inevitable game of ping-pong; the Chairman's chain-smoking; and his habit of taking his trousers off when argument became heated.

Mr Enoch Powell is surely within his rights in declining to declare his interests in the parliamentary register established for that purpose. The innovation was introduced last year not by legislation but by resolution, and therefore lacks the authority of law. Hence Mr Powell's objection. It seems excessively foolish of MPs to speak of suspending him for failure to comply with the new practice. If a declaration is to be considered obligatory, it should have the force of law. What Mr Powell could declare, if he chose, is that he himself (alone among MPs?) has not accepted the recent increase in parliamentary pay.

Before Sir William Ryland becomes too well pleased with himself over the Post Office profits for the past year he might reflect deeply, and with due humility, upon the gross deficiencies of his service. Self-congratulation will not be in order until, for example, he has restored the Sunday postal collection.

There is not often an exhibition of cricketing paintings on in London: at the moment there are two. At Lord's, in the dining rooms above the Taverners' pub, theie is a summer-long show of paintings by Lawrence Toynbee, a well-known sporting painter; and at the Qantas Gallery there is a show by the young painter Rosemary Taylor. Both exhibitions are to be commended, and they are particularly interesting in contrast.