20 NOVEMBER 1999, Page 41

British no more

From Mr Bill Cameron Sir: Lord Deedes's otherwise interesting and amusing article ('Whingeing Aussie losers', 13 November) contains one faux pas that may reveal more about his thinking than he realises.

In referring to 'what is now the British Commonwealth', he overlooks that this name existed officially only between 1931, the date the Statute of Westminster was promulgated, and 1946 when the word 'British' was dropped from what is now offi- cially 'The Commonwealth [of Nations]'. Indeed, two present-day member nations, Cameroon and Mozambique, have partial and non-existent links, respectively, with the erstwhile British Empire.

Bill Cameron 88 Moraypark Avenue, Culloden, Inverness