Lord Plurenden
Sir: My attention has just been drawn to the article Stern berg's circus by Ian Waller (14 January). It is deplorable that your respected magazine permits Ian Waller to use his own sour grapes to besmirch the character of Rudi Sternberg — the late Lord Plurenden. To link him in the selfsame Paragraph with two other dead people — both alleged embezzlers — is journalism of the worst kind.
There never has been the remotest suggestion — not even the breath of a rumour — of financial dishonesty or similar chicanery against Lord Plurenden during the whole of his career. He rose from 'rags to riches' due to a number of wellrecognised qualities — vision, courage, self-confidence, energy, business acumen, knowledge of continental modes of thought and language and last but not least his ability to inspire loyalty and deVot,ion in the people he employed. He never borrowed a penny, he had no financial partners or outside shareholders but largely thanks to him many millions of pounds of export trade in a wide range of British products to Iron Curtain countries were initiated. Is it not a truism that mutual trade between potential combatants is a better defence against war than the nuclear deterrent?
Of the numerous names dragged by Mr Waller into the 'circus' only two were actually members of the entourage and their activities were in every way creditable. I write with inside knowledge. I knew Rudi personally and professionally since 1940, which is more than twenty years before Mr Waller had even met him. His description of Lord Plurenden's personal appearance (unimportant — but in this case significant) is so far from actuality as to imply that Mr Waller needs to have his sight tested and his many other smears betoken jaundiced vision. Mr Waller's slip is really showing conspicuously in the last two paragraphs of his article where his envious eye has completely blinded him to the naked display of his own complexes. Aye, sir, a deplorable performance.
Harold W. Fisher 2 Straffan Lodge, 1-3 Belsize Grove, London NW3
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