13 SEPTEMBER 2003, Page 34

From Chris White Sir: Do not forget that Jay Gatsby

made a virtue of keeping his mouth shut, something that Silvio Berlusconi would do well to emulate. Indeed, although the Italian premier may be for you 'better than the whole damn lot of them', you would do well to quote the final sentence of F. Scott Fitzgerald's great novel: `So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' This is the problem that some of us have with Mr Berlusconi.

Chris White

London SW8