Last refuge
Sir: Mr Baird is obviously not a regular reader of the Spectator, otherwise he would not have written the splendidly fatuous letter published last week.
To rebut Mr Baird's spurious arguments may I enlist the aid of John BiggsDavison and quote freely (for Mr Baird's enlightenment) from his brilliant article 'Can bipartisanship survive ?' (Spectator, 29 May) 'Yes, Mr Merlyn Rees is the first to urge that the "godfathers" of the Ulster Mafias should be brought to book. He is right. It is not enough to apprehend teenage dupes or the rank and file of so-called brigades and active services units. The managers Of murder, the millionaires of extortion, the manipulators of co-operatives and other enterprises in Andersonstown and elsewhere, the tycoons of thuggery, whatever colours they brandish and besmirch— these must be put out of circulation.
'It causes grave scandal that a Twomey or McGuinness can walk free in Northern Ireland while in the South the Garda Siochanacan take in a Mallon or O'Connell. The time is past when the British [or the obtuse Mr Baird] could chide the Dublin Government, for softness towards the Provisional IRA.'
The hypocritical concern that Mr Baird expresses for the holders of British passports is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
K. C. Coleman 10 Mornington Terrace, London NW1
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