4 NOVEMBER 1966, Page 14

Russian Realities SIR,—Mr Watt's very generous review of my book

(October 28) contains one implication which I ought to try to correct. He suggests that the 'powers-that- be' have in some way prevented me from saying all that I might have wanted to say.

In fact the Foreign Office gave me access to all my reports that I wished to consult, and when I showed them my text they required no excisions, though at their suggestion (it was no more) I did cut out one sentence of no particular importance. If my book does not contain detailed accounts of negotiations this is due partly to my own laziness and distaste for wading through all that stuff again, and partly to a real belief that all of it that is of general interest has already been published elsewhere (principally in Lord Avon's memoirs).