20 OCTOBER 2001, Page 40

Our friends in Iberia

From Alexandre Bunnester

Sir: For some reason, in your introduction to lain Duncan Smith's article ('Why we must stick by America', 29 September) you refer to America as 'our oldest and staunchest ally'. Every Portuguese schoolchild's history book states that the Anglo-Portuguese alliance is the oldest in the world (dating back to the Treaty of Windsor of, I believe, 1373).

Alexandre Burrnester

Porto, Portugal