SIR, — In our Encounter article, to which Mr. Potter refers, we
said that Donald Hume's 'confession' was palpably false; and we suggested that this fact was symptomatic of his fantasy-ridden and grossly abnormal mind. We did not set out to establish Hume's innocence of the murder. We did, however, prove beyond doubt that the murder could not have been committed in the way that Hume told the readers of the Sunday Pictorial (and, subsequently, a Zurich court) it was committed. Whether or not Hume killed Setty remains, therefore, as much of a mystery as it was when the jury at his trial failed to reach a verdict. We, can find nothing in Mr. Potter's letter, other than unsupported assertion, which throws further light on the question.
Incidentally, Mr. Potter appears to make a serious allegation against the Dartmoor authorities: namely, that far from attempting to protect Hume from undesirable publicity at the time of his release, they 'connived' at a special action intended to help one popular newspaper scoop its competitors. But no doubt the Prison Commission will answer this.
29 Wilton Place, SW1
GILES PLAYFA1R DERRICK SINGTON
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