Sir: My publishing colleague, Mr Kingsley Amis, refers to me
(albeit not by name) in his deeply felt 'Personal Column' (23 January) in a way that might have led an un- suspecting reader to believe that it is possible for an editor of the SPECTATOR to be less than fair. I should like to correct that impres- sion.
Mr Amis wrote that 'A third edi- tor closed his correspondence, re- opened it to slip in a further attack, and instantly closed it again.' The facts are that the letter 'slipped in' (on Yevtushenko, as it happens) was from Mr Robin Milner Gull- and and was an attack, not on Mr Amis, bit on Mr Tibor Siamuely, in response to an earlier attack by Mr Szamuely on Mr Milner Gull- and. Before finally closing the cor- respondence I offered Mr Szamu- ely (who, in his inimitable style, had begun the whole controversy) the opportunity to reply. He de- dined, feeling that he had already made his point.
Of course, all this happened more than two years ago, which doubtless explains Mr Amis's con-. fused recollection. Let me assure him that he has no cause to nurse even the smallest grievance so far As this journal is concerned. Nigel Lawson 24 Hyde Park Gate, London sw7
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