7 SEPTEMBER 1962, Page 14

SIR,—It is perhaps presumptuous of me to follow two such

eminent critics of Henry Fairlie as Graham Greene and Lord Boothby, but his current attack upon the Earl of Sandwich has at last brought my typewriter to the boil. May I, as one who has never agreed with the actions of the noble Earl during his distinguished political career, voice the disgust of what I imagine to be the majority of your readers at this schoolboyish and Central-Office-sycophantic sneer.

To dig up Elizabethan ancestors to score a point has about as much relevance as an investigation into Mr. Fairlie's own political past—perhaps less. In conclusion, lest it be thought that I belong to or have sympathy with any of the 'fringe' organisa- tions listed by Mr. Fairlie, let me declare my interest. I am a prospective Liberal Candidate and a keen supporter of Britain's entry into the Euro- pean Economic Community.