14 JANUARY 1995, Page 23

Sir: I suppose that there could be a newspa- per

proprietor from whom Paul Johnson takes a shilling who actually lives in Britain, but I doubt it. To think that the Murdoch, Black or Rothermere press 'normally' con- vene the 'managing board to call the editor to account and decide if he is still a fit person to run the paper' is as laughable as the rest of Johnson's rant against the Guardian and its editor (And another thing, 31 December). I can hardly be alone in having happily read the 'right-wing' Spectator and the 'left- wing' Guardian in conjunction for 30-odd years without imploding. This is more than can be said for Paul Johnson following his trip from the New Statesman to Doughty Street and beyond.

Graham Melmoth

Throstles Nest, Whitney Croft, Macclesfield, Cheshire

`Get a life.'