27 MAY 1995, Page 36

Impudent Scot

Sir: I wouldn't quarrel with the gist of Paul Johnson's article (And another thing, 20 May), though only someone in the throes of infatuation can suppose that Mr Blair is 'made of sterner, braver, and more principled stuff' than Mr Major, but I wonder why he refers to Mr Piers Mor- gan, editor of the News of the World, as `an impudent Welsh guttersnipe'? If Mr Morgan was English, would Johnson call him 'an impudent English guttersnipe'? If not, why not?

I am grateful, however, for the new slant he offers on history. Though I once knew a lot about Henry VIII, I never knew that, like Mr Murdoch, he enjoyed 'breaking powerful editors even more than he once enjoyed making them'.

Allan Massie

Thirladean House, Selkirk