Keep it in the family
Sir: It would be easy and satisfying to reply in kind to Paul Johnson's personal attack (And another thing, 19 April), but I will not do so. I have always been rather fond of Mr Johnson and his pleasant family, and I know he is capable of better journalism than this. His glutinous praise for Tony Blair and for some favoured reporters is far more disturbing (and, I suspect, more dam- aging to its recipients) than the lavatory- wall invective which he squirts at me.
However, I must reject his allegation that I 'pester Tony Blair about his family and try to drag his children into the debate'. Mr Blair has brought his sons into the election without any help from me, as I shall explain. He has decided to send them to a unique state school, far better than those available to most voters. For blatantly polit- ical purposes, he maintained that it is a comprehensive, which is true only in the sense that No. 10 Downing Street is a ter- raced house in the inner city. He now pro- poses policies which will eventually make it impossible for this school to continue as it is, and will prevent others from following its example. Finally, he has given disingenuous replies to my questions on this subject, hav- ing tried and failed to prevent me from ask- ing them in the first place.
Peter Hitchens
245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1
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