8 AUGUST 1981, Page 16

Simple people

Sir: Taki is perhaps a little harsh on the newspaper reporter whom he accuses (25 July) of oversimplifying his comparison between the ancient Romans and the modern Russians. Your contributor, to judge by his own account, broke the first rule for talking to reporters: whatever you want to say, put it in words which even a sub-editor could understand.

Mike St Aubyn 55 Evesham Road, London N11